S D 

L87 



FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. 
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 



Miscellaneous. 



Special Report No. I. 



4^ . 



ADDRESS 



HO>sL GEO. B. LORING, 

U. S. COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTUEE, 



IIEI'OKK THK 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS, 



SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA, 



AUGUST 8, 1883. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, 

1883. 



Kfin^gnpii 




Pass SD^WI 

Rnnk "Z. hi 



FOEESTEY IN THE UNITED STATES. 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Miscellaneous. Special Report No. I. 



ADDRESS y^ 



HOIST. GEO. B. LORING, 

I 
U. S. COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, 



BEFORE THE 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS, 

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA, 



AUGUST 8, 1883. 



WASniNGTO]<r; 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1883. 

4468 LOR A 



-b 



!b' 






! IS IGifJ^ 



lA^' ^ 



j>»jL|t 



A J> DRESS 



THE AMERICAiN FORESTRY CONGRESS 



Gentlemen: When I had the honor of addressing an assembly of 
those interested in promoting the cultivation ami preservation of forests 
in this country, and in ornamenting our cities and towns by the plant- 
ing of trees in their parks and along the highways, now a year ago, I 
dwelt largely on the value and importance of providing in every way 
for the gratification of our refined tastes and for increasing the popular 
sense of beauty. I did this as preliminar}' to the more practical work 
which called that assembly together, and as an appeal to the strongest 
motive man has to engage in the business of providing for his wants 
and surrounding himself with the comforts and luxuries which pros- 
perity secures. At this time I propose to confine myself strictly to the 
condition of forests in this country, and to such suggestions as may occur 
to me with regard to their increase, preservation, and economical use. 

And first as to the increase of our forests. In this work both nature 
and art are engaged. The "forests primeval" meet man wherever he 
advances to the occupation of new lands best adapted to feed and clothe 
him and best fitted for agricultural labor and production. His primary 
work is to remove this great vegetable growth, whose condition indi- 
cates the quality of the soil he proposes to cultivate. If he pauses in 
his work the forests return to their accustomed place. In the older 
States many acres which half a century ago were used for pasturage or 
tillage are now covered with forest growths, and many timber lands 
which have once supplied the forest products are now hastening to sup- 
ply a new crop. The acreage of woodland is undoubtedly increasing in 
those sections where farming has become unprofitable either through 
exhaustion of the soil or through a change in the locality and demands 
of the markets. In the strictly lumbering States this is also true. 
"While the deserted, remote, and mountain farms in Massachusetts are 
rapidly "grov.ing up to wood," the woodlands of Maine and Michigan 
and many another kinibering State are growing a new crop, which in 
a quarter of a century will be more valuable than the original growth, 
although much reduced in size. The young pine and spruce forests of 
the north, covering acres of land once occupied by their sturdy progeni- 
tors, are full of promise and beauty. In other sections of the country, 

3 



4 AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

lands, whicli have for ages been bare of trees while exposed to amiiial 
prairie fires, are, under the protection of man, producing- rapid growths 
of wood. As the settler guards his fields against fires and cattle, trees 
spring up, and especially along the water-courses may be seen forest 
belts where an entire absence of trees had been the law for many gene- 
rations of men. Wherever the land is protected, therefore, whether it 
be the location of old forests, or bare spots adapted to tree-growing 
where forests have been hitherto unknown, nature is busily engaged in 
producing wood and in bringing back the forest growth which welcomes 
advancing man as he goes on in his work of civilization. 

In addition to this natural increase, much has been done in many of 
the States in tree-planting, and much more ought to be done. The 
establishment of 'harbor days" and the inducements held out by legis- 
lation hi,ve operated very favorably on the work of what is called vil- 
lage improvement, and on an agricultural attention to the cultivation 
of trees as a crop. And this business has increased with very consider- 
able rapidity in some of our best farming States. In Minnesota, for 
instance, the number of acres planted on "arbor day" in 1878 was 811; 
in 1882 the number was 1,184; and the whole number of acres planted 
increased from 18,029 in 1878, to 38,458 in 1882. Work similar to this 
is done in Iowa, Nebraska, and Dakota, as well as in Ohio, Michigan, 
Illinois, and Kansas. In Nebraska, the number of acres of -cultivated 
woodland has reached 107,438, as against 19,(395 acres of natural in- 
crease. These are small beginnings, it is true, but they are entitled to 
our most careful consideration as the commencement of an enterprise 
which, when properly conducted, will undoubtedly constitute an im- 
l^ortant branch of American agriculture. 

Ti'ee-culture ought now to receive our most carefol attention. It is 
time that the skill which has been applied to the cultiNatiou of our great 
cereal crops, to cotton, rice, tobacco, and all the profitable products of 
the soil, sach as grass and vegetables and fruits of every description, 
should be applied also to the growing of wood as a farm prod net. To 
the choice of forest trees adai)ted to each locality; to the selection of 
land which can most properly be devoted to trees, considering its fitness 
or unfitness for any other crop on account of quality and situation, 
whether near to or remote fVom the iarm buildings, whether useful or 
not for pasturage and tillage; to the best methods of cultivation, 
whether by seeding or planting from nurseries; to the best method of 
securing a speedy return — to all these points the attention of practical 
and investigating farmers should be carefully and systematically turned. 
The profit of the crop can, I presume, be no longer questioned. Waste 
lands inclosed and left to nature have produced in wood a very large 
return for the investment. Why should not land subjected to the well- 
directed art of the cultivator produce just as good a result? For the 
purjyose of encouraging this enterprise it is important that Government 
should lend its aid in every legitimate way until the wood crop is recog- 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 5 

nized exactly as are the great staple crops of the country. If a bounty 
is legitimate and useful in any case, it certainly would be in this. The 
protection against lawless iuvasiou''thrown around our grain fields and 
gardens should also be extended to our woodlands, protection against 
depredation, wanton fires, and stray cattle. The ritliug of a forest 
should be as penal an offense as the rifling of an orchard. Over forest- 
covered public lauds and over forest i)]aiitations, against the careless 
destruction of the settler on the one, and the trespass of the outlaw on 
the other, should the strong arm of the lawbe constantly and vigorously 
extended. 

THE A^ALUE OF THE INDUSTRY. 

In order tliat I may impress upon you the value of tliis industry I 
will ask your attention to its extent in our country, which covers such 
a vast area. I do this in order to impress upon your minds not onlj' 
the value but the great importance of husbanding our resources in this 
direction in view of the constantly increasing demand for our forest 
products in all their variety. The forest lands of the United States 
amount to less than one-fourth of the entire area. The proportion of 
wooded area is less than in Eastern, jSTorthern, and Central Europe, and 
is very unequally distributed. Norway has two-thirds of its area 
wooded, Sweden six-tenths, Eussia nearly one-third, and Germany 
nearly one-fourth. The countries having less forest areas, arranged in 
order of proportion, from 18 down to 5 per cent., are Belgium, France, 
Switzerland, Sardinia, Naples, Holland, Spain, Denmark, Great Britain, 
and Portugal. 

Originally the Southern, Middle, and Eastern States were entirely 
wooded, exce])t a large portion of Texas and a few small prairies in the 
Southwest. Small areas of mountain glades among the Alleghenies 
might also be excepted. Ohio and Eastern and Southern Indiana were 
wooded, and the northern i)ortions of the Lake States. 

West of the line of prairies, running southwest through Indiana, 
Illinois, Missouri, to the Indian Territory, the central prairies, the drier 
XJlains, and much of the southern belt of the Pacific slope are destitute 
of wood. The streams in all the great region are more or less fringed 
with trees of some sort, and the higher mountains on the protected 
sides have a thin covering of forest. In the deep valleys of the west- 
ern slope of the Sierra ISTevadas are forests of extraordinary density 
filled with soft-wooded evergreen trees of enormous size, the wonder 
and admiration of the practical woodman. Here the Sequoia gigantea, 
or big tree, flourishes in isolated iiatches, while the coast range is the 
home of the Sequoia senipervirens or redwood. 

From North Carolina to Louisiana nearly six-tenths of the farm area 
is wooded, though much of the area thinly, and part of it has been culled 
and is in second growth. Including unoccupied areas not in farms 



6 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 



which are in forest, something like three-fourths of the entire South is 
wooded. 

There are counties in the South that were ten years ago almost un- 
broken forest. More than nine-tenths of the area of Brunswick, North 
Carolina, were then wooded, and almost as large a proportion of Beau, 
fort, Craven, Onslow, ISTew Hanover, and Bladen. A similar prepon- 
derance obtained in Williamsburg, Georgetown, and Lexington, South 
Carolina ; and in Camden, Charlton, Clinch, and others in Georgia. In 
all of the Gulf States such districts were found. Less than 2 per cent, 
of Newton Countj^, in Eastern Texas, was cleared. To-day the pro- 
portion of w^oodland is but little less. On the farm areas of Georgia 
the percentage of forests has increased from 55 to 59 on account of 
taking two or three millions of i)rimitive forests into the farm area. 
In Florida, from the same cause, it has increased from GO to 66 per cent. 
The decline has been from 61 to 58 in Mississippi; from 57 to 55 in Lou- 
isiana. It has increased from 42 to 44 in Texas ; and nearly one hun- 
dred counties show from 10 to 80 per cent, in wood. The wealth of 
forest growth is scarcely appreciated in large districts of the South. 
There are districts where clearings are yet made yearly by girdling the 
trees in the summer for planting among the boles standing bare and 
blackened. Every winter a log-rolling disposes of the trunky that fall, 
until decay and Are have cleared the held. And it is not long since a 
sprinkling of black walnut rails could be seen in the worm fences which 
still surrounds fields of corn and cotton, and probably a few can yet be 
found. 

Comparing the census returns of 1870 and 1880 we find a decrease of 
woodlands in farm areas in Michigan from 41 to 32 per cent. ; in Min- 
nesota from 21 to 15, and in Iowa from 16 to 11 per cent. In NeiLvaska, 
tree-planting has changed the record from 3 to 10 per cent. From the 
increase of farms in the wooded area, Wisconsin has 31 instead of 29 
jDcr cent. The comparison is thus tabulated: 





1880. 


, 1870. 


states. 


Acres in 
farms. 


Acres in 
■woodland. 


It 


1 Acres in 

1 farms. 

\ 
1 

1 


Acres in 
w-oodland. 




Michigan 


13, 80r, 240 
15,353,118 
13, 403, 019 

24, 752, 700 
9, 944, 826 


4, 452, 265 
4. 768, 046 
2, 030, 726 
2, 755, 290 
321, 566 


32 
31 
15 
11 
3 


10, 019, 142 

11, 715, 321 
6, 483, 828 

15,541,793 
2, 073, 781 


4, 080, 146 
3, 437, 442 

1, 336, 299 

2, 524, 793 
213, 374 


41 
29 




21 




16 


Nebraska 


10 






Total • 


77, 260, 903 


14, 327, 893 


18 


45,833,865 


11, 592, 054 


25 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 7 

The belt including latitudes 37° to 41° through which runs the Ohio 
Eiver extended westward across the Mississippi Kiver, shows a decrease 
from 34 to 26 per cent.; greatest in Ohio and Indiana, as follows: 





1880. 

1 


1870. 


states. 


Acres in 
farms. 


Acre.s -in 
woodland. 


O m 

II 


Acies in 
farms. 


Acres in 
woodland. 




Kentucky 

Ohio '. 


21, 495, 240 
24, 529, 226 
20, 420, 983 
31, 673, 645 

27, S79, 276 
21,417,468 


10,106,072 
5, 982, 507 
5, 935, 308 
4, 935, 575 

10,137,790 
991, 187 


47 
24 
29 
16 
36 1 
5 


18, 660, 106 
21, 712, 420 
18, 119, 648 
25, 882, 861 
21, 707, 220 
5, 656, 879 


9, 134, 6.58 
6, 883, 575 
7, 189, 334 
5, 061, 578 
8, 965, 229 
635, 419 


49 
32 




40 


Illinois 

Missouri 


20 
41 
11 








Total 


147, 415, 838 


38, 088, 439 


26 

i 


111, 739, 134 


37, 869, 793 


34 



In the eastern section, Maine shows an increase from new farms in 
Aroostook County and other northern counties, but it has been de- 
nuded of heavy timber and left for new growths, and therefore makes a 
deceptive showing. New York shows a decrease from 26 to 22 per 
cent., and Pennsylvania fro*m 32 to 29, as follows: 





. 1880. 


1870. 








^H . 






C4-1 . 


States. 






om 






OJ§ 




Acres in 


Acres in 


S.3 


Acres in 


Acres in 


a c8 




farms. 


•woodland. 


o a 


farms. 


woodland. 


° a 








t-i 1- 












® rf 














P-(=" 






PL, =2 


Maine 


6, 552, 578 


2, 682, 296 


41 


5, 838, 058 


2. 224, 740 


38 




3, 721, 173 


1, 296 529 


35 


3 605 994 


1 047 090 


29 




4, 882, 588 


1, 503 467 


31 


i 528' 804 


1 386 934 


31 


Kew York 


23, 780, 754 


5, 195, 795 


22 


22, 190 810 


5 679 870 


26 




19, 791, 341 


5, 810, 331 


29 


17,994,200 


5, 740, 864 


32 






Total 


58, 728, 434 


16, 488, 418 


28 


54, 157, 866 


16, 079, 498 


30 







Taking the States by groups the inequality of forest distribution is 
strikingly shown. The following statement divides the woodlands re- 
ported on farm areas as follows : 



states. 



Acres in 
farms. 



Acres in 
woodland. 



Per cent. 

of farm 

land. 



'New England 

Middle 

South Atlantic 

Gulf aud Southern ... 
Ohio Valley and Lake 

Trans-Mississippi 

Pacific 

Kocky Mountain 

Total 



21, 483, 772 

47,592,113 

90,117,393 

112, 004, 983 

137, 473, 231 

97, 397, 289 

21, 339, 316 

8, 673, 738 



7, 31.5, 730 
11, 993, 317 
49, 339, 653 
59, 078, 032 
42,360,123 
16, 236, 559 

3, 115, 924 
816, 406 



536, 081, 835 



190, 255, 744 



34 
25 
55 
53 
31 
17 
15 
09 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 
CHANGES BY YEARS. 



The following tables give a list of the States showing cbauges often 
years both in farm and woodland areas: 




'New York 
New Jersey 
Pennsylvauia 
Delaw 



Marvland i 1-634; 

Virginia j ». 126, 

North Carolina ., 13, 8(38, 

South Carolina 7,255, 

15, 269 



Georiiia 
Florida.. 



2, 186, 



South Atlantic ' 49,339 



Alabama . . . 

Mississippi 

Louisiana... 

Texas 

Arkansas . . 
Tennessee . 



Gulf and Southern . 



West Virginia . 

Kentucky 

Ohio 

Michigan 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Wisconsin 



Ohio Valley and Lake . 



Minnesota 
Iowa 

Missouri . . . 

Kansas 

Nebraska . 



Trans-Mississippi - 



Colorado 

Arizona 

Dakota 

Idaho 

Montana 

New Mexico . 

Utah 

Washington . 

Wyoming 

Indian 



Kooky Mountain . 



California - 

Oregon 

Nevada . . . 



Pacific Coast. 



United States 190,255,744 



10, 430 
9, 144 
4, 557, 

15, 851 
7,861 

11, 232 



59, 078, 



6, 180, 

10, 106 

5,1 

4, 452, 

5, 935 
4, 935 
4, 768, 



42, 360, 



2, 030 

2, 755 

10, 137 

991 

321 



16, 236, 

44^ 

13 

80 

11 

3 

219, 

2 

437 



1, 672, 

1,424 

18, 



3, 115 



32 
46 
62 
54 
59 
66 



55 
58 
55 
44 
65 
54 



53 



123 



31 



924 



17 

4 
10 

2 

4 

1 
35 

0.4 
31 

0.4 
18 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 



9 



Of the value aud importance of the forests covering* these areas let me 
say : Next to the white pine of the northern forests, the most valuable 
tree is undoubtedly the Phius australis, or long-leafed pine of the 
southern coast lauds, forming a belt of varying breadth, up to 100 aud 
150 miles from the Atlantic and Gulf shores. It is the Georgia piue of 
builders, preferred for flooring aud heavy frame-work, aud is still found 
in pristine vigor aud abundance over a large area from ^STorfolk to Gal- 
veston. These pine lands are uow eagerly sought for by American and 
English capitalists, are rapidly taken up for manufacturing operations 
or on specnlative acconnt, and are rising in value. They have been 
held for luauy years by tlie General Government at piices ranging from 
12^ cents to $1.25 i^er acre, tiie former being for lauds that had been 
opened to nuirket for a certain period. This is the turpentine })ine of 
North Carolina, where the business of distilling turpentine aud nuiking 
tar aud rosin has long- been profitable. It is also carried on, though in 
isolated enterprises, in other portions of this coast belt. 



TURPENTINE PINE. 



The products of the year ending April, 1880, are thus estimated by 
Mr. A. H, Van Bokkelen : 





States. 


! Turpentine. 


Rosin. 






Gallnns. 
, : 6,279,200 


Barrels. 
663, 907 
333 940 






i 4, 593, 200 






! 3,151,500 


277 500 






, 1,036,350 


68 281 






2,005,000 


158 482 






250 000 


20 000 






250 000 


20, OoO 








Total United States 


17 Sfin ann 


1 542 110 







The Southern pine will come into still greater prominence as railroad 
and steamboat lines extend facilities for transportation, which is now 
being done with great rapidity. 

The condition of the pine-lumber supply of the United States in con- 
nection with the statements I have made is interesting. The destruc- 
tion of this tree by fire and the ax of the settler and the lumberman 
is very great. Together with the spruce it is being rapidly consumed, 
and I think the following figures will show that the supply is to be ob- 
tained hereafter by allowing an exhausted region time to recuperate, 
whilethe comparatively uncut sections are resorted to for filling the de- 
mands of the market. Investigations recently made show that the 
supply of pine in New Hampshire and Vermont is exhausted, and that 
the spruce lumber, at the rate the cutting is now going on, will last in 
the former State but 7 years, and in the latter but 4. In the State of 
Maine the pine will last 4 years and spruce 15 years. In South Carolina 
the pine forests will last 50 years at the present rate of cutting ; in Cali- 
fornia, 150 years; in Arkansas, 300 years; in Pennsylvania, 15 years; in 



10 AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

Geoi\2fia, SO years; in Louisiana, 100 years ; in ISTorth Carolina, 50 years; 
in Wisconsin, 20 years; in Michigan, 10 years; in Minnesota, 10 years; 
in Mississippi, 150 years; in Alabama, 90 years ; in Florida, 30 years; in 
Texas, 250 years. That the exhausted forests in this list of States can 
be restored in time there is no doubt; and every means of cultivation 
and protection should be applied by the people and the Government, 
both State and Federal, each in accordance with its own jurisdiction. 

FEARS OF A TIMBER FAMINE UNFOUNDED. 

We should not forget, however, that while the demand for timber is 
imperative and increasing with increase of population, requiring the 
fostering care of the Government and the enlightened enterprise of 
timber-growers in promoting the progress of forest culture, there may 
be danger of assuming too hastilj' a prospective timber famine, and 
fabulous prices for fuel, even with the foregoing striking estimates be- 
fore us. 

It should be remembered that thus far the exhaustion of lumber re- 
lates mainly to the white pine. It may be found, when the great i^ineries 
shall be cut over, that the outcome is greater than was assumed, and 
that isolat'.'d patches of pine in mixed forests, and the second growths 
and remnants from first cuttings, may suffice to delay the threatened 
famine. 

The black-walnut, culled from western forests to meet a limited though 
important demand, is really becoming scarce on the northern side of the 
O^io Valley; but on the southern, along the foot-hills and in the valleys 
of the Appalachian range, it is abundant and almost untouched. It 
grows rapidly in the Western States even beyond the Missouri, and is 
destined to be the source of wealth to the future tree-grower. 

The millions of acres of existing forests on this great eastern chain of 
mountains have not yet been considered in the statistics of forestry here 
presented. Their resources have never been measured, are yet com- 
paratively unknown, and almost untouched by the axe of the woodman. 
As railroads penetrate these mountain fastnesses in the Virginias, the 
Carolinas, Kentucky and Tennessee, bonanzas of forest production will 
respond to the call of enterprise, and enrich the proprietor-woodsman 
and manufacturer. In addition to this, the white pine of Minnesota is 
estimated at 6,100,000,000 feet exclusive of isolated timber in birch lands 
and amidst other hard-wood growth. In Michigan the estimates for 
the lower peninsula cover 7,000,000,000 feet in the Saginaw district, 
8,000,000,000 on the streams flowing into Lake Huron, and 14,000,000,000 
on those flowing into Lake Michigan. The upper peninsula contains 
6,000,000,000 more, making 35,000,000,000 feet in the principal pine dis- 
tricts of Michigan. 

The great pine forests of Wisconsin are estimated to contain 41,000,- 
000,000 feet of lumber, the largest proportion in the Chippewa and Wis- 
consin districts. They cover an area of 22,500,000 acres. The northern 



AMERICAN F0RP:STRY CONGRESS. 11 

border of the pine area is less productive tliau the areas of lower lati- 
tudes. The cedar swamps of Wisconsin scattered through the pine belt 
are estimated to cover ],3(>5,0')0 acres, and to contain 02,800,000 posts, 
telegrai)h i)oles, and railrotul ties. There are also large supplies of tam- 
arack, and spruce, and valuable oak timber, especially in Dunn, Pierce, 
and Saint Croix Counties, and other hard woods are abundant through 
the southern border of the wooded districts. 

The united area of the States south of Maryland and tlie Ohio River 
is more than 500,000,000 acres, containing nearly 400,000,000 acres of 
forest lauds. The farm area of these States is 228,000,000 acres, con- 
taining 123,000,000 acres of ^Toodland. Denude any portion of this 
forest surface, and trees spring up spontaneously and grow rapidly. 
There are millions of acres of young forests in the South in which the 
corn-hills are almost as prominent as when the waving corn occupied 
the surface. Nature abhors a vacuum of broom-sedge, the first growth 
of abandoned fields, and speedily replaces it with a forest of pines. Intelli- 
gent land-owners of this region have estimated an average growth of a 
cord of wood per acre each year, or twenty cords of wood per acre in 
twenty years. 

Is there immediate danger then of scarcity of fuel in a country 
where more than two-thirds of the entire area is wooded ; and when 
nature is so kiiul and so prolific in forest farms, cannot the supplemen- 
tary hand of man aid in providing even a sufliciency of timber for the 
wants of coming generations'? 

PRESERVATION OF FORESTS. 

But notwithstanding this somewhat encouraging view, much remains 
to be done for the preservation of our forests. The waste by careless 
cutting, bj^ fires, by settlers clearing the land for agricultural puj-poses, 
is enormous. Thus far this has not been checked to any great degree. 
Local and federal legislation, diffusion of knowledge, the manifest de- 
struction of valuable property have not yet been able to bring the for- 
ests within the pale of well protected possessions under the law. Often 
has the remedy been pronounced by those who have devoted their lives to 
the study of this industry, and often have laws been passed which seemed 
to afford a remedy for the existing evil. But still the work of destruction 
goes on. It now remains, as it seems to me, for the public mind to be 
brought to a true understanding of the value of the property itself and 
of the disaster which would attend its destruction. That protection can 
be secured in the States by associations like this, by i^ractical men en- 
gaged in planting trees and preserving their woodlands, by bounties for 
successful tree-culture, by the distribution broadcast of bulletins and 
pamphlets, there can be no doubt. On the best method of legislation 
it is not easy to decide. Bounties based on exemption from taxation 
have not had the desired effect, the tree-planting having served more as 
a mode of evading taxation than as a means of developing an industry 



12 AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

uuder the stimulus of protectiou. Aud of oue county iu Iowa it is said 
"the experience of the board of supervisors justifies them in the opin- 
ion that forest culture in our county would advance as rapidly without 
as with the exemption laws." On the other hand the State auditor de- 
clares that: "there can be no question but that this law of our State 
has grately stimuhited the planting of forest trees aud orchards too;'^ 
and that "if advantage could be taken of its popularity by inducing 
jjlanter to set out a better class of trees, such as ash, walnut, &c., more 
good would thereby be accomplished." Connecticut, Dakota, i^Tevada, 
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and other States, have all passed 
acts encouraging tree-planting, either by bounty or exemption. Encour- 
agement has also been largely offered by agricultural associations in 
most of the States, and great attention has been given to the proper se- 
lection of trees for each locality. The introduction of new varieties of 
forest- trees has beeu carefully considered also; and the habits of trees, 
native and foreign, have been made matters of the most diligent study, 
both by those who are governed by scientific zeal and those who are en- 
engaged in developing a practical industry. Of the efforts of the Fed- 
eral Government to preserve and develop the forests on the public lands 
of the United States much has been said. 

THE TIMBER-CULTURE ACT. 

On the working of the timber-culture act it is unnecessary for me to 
dwell. But I think I can, with profit, submit some suggestions, made 
by the Land Office, with regard to "timber depredations!' and the laws 
to prevent them. On this point the Land Commissioner, in his report 
of 1882, says: 

While much has been accomplished iu the direction of suppressing the uulawful 
cutting and removing of timbers from the public lauds, I am of the opiuiou that bet- 
ter results can be obtained in the future; particularly so if some general and compre- 
hensive law could be passed clearly defining who may take timber from the public 
lauds, the purposes for which it may be cut and removed, and ])rescribing the punish- 
ment for unlawfully cutting, removing, or in any way wantonly destroying or injur- 
ing any timber growing, or being upon any of the public lands, or in any way causing 
or inciting such trespass. Such law should also establish the terms and conditions 
upon which any compromise or settlement should be authorized. A law of this nature 
"would be more generally understood and comprehended than the several different 
enactments relating to this subject now in force, and could be more easily and evenly 
administered. 

This is recommended because it is difdcult to get competent and 
reliable special timber agents under the existing laws, and because the 
offenses are committed too often under cover of the homestead entries 
fraudulent! 3' made for the purpose of securing the timber on the lands. 
I think the difficulty in this matter lies in the fact that no value is set 
ur)on the timber itself as a piece of Government property. It has been 
assumed that Government does not desire to make the timber a source 
of revenue or profit, and that in the survey of lands no discrimina- 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 



13 



tioii should be made on the score of existing resources. This policy 
may be wise and necessary, but it is not thrifty. Early in the history 
of the (jrovernmeut public lands were sold, as in the case of the sale to 
the Ohio Company, in 1787, for the purpose of replenishing the public 
treasury. And while Congress has exercised great liberality in the 
donation of lands for various enterprises, still the fact remains that 
this landed possession is of great financial .importance. The time is 
gone by when the standing timber of the country, either on public or 
private domain, can be considered an obstruction to be removed by the 
ax and fire to make way for crops of another description. There is a 
valne attached to it equal to that of an}" crop known — a value which 
should in some way be considered in the transfer of public lands to 
settlers and purchasers. Whenever, in anj" way a recognized value is 
attached to the timber itself, be it large or small, its protection and 
preservation by the Government becomes a natural consequence, and 
wanton destruction by the ax and fires may be ])revented. Government 
now offers a bonnty for planting trees by its timber act, and makes no 
adequate provision for the preservation of the valuable forests standing 
on unoccupied lands. It seems as if this case might be met by some 
form of legislation. 

The timber-culture act was passed March 3, 1873, amended March 
13, 1874, and again June 11, 1878, since which date 75,045 entries have 
been made, of the aggregate of 93,240, since the first passage of the act. 
The area covered by these entries is 13,677,140 acres, of which 4,890,802 
are in Dakota, 3,591,775 in Kansas, and 2,-338,155 in Nebraska. In 1882 
the entries amounted to 2,500,080 acres, more than half of which were 
in Dakota. The distribution of the aggregate entries is as follows: 



states and Territories. 



Entries. 



Acres. 



Arizona 

Arlcaiisas 

California. .. 
Colorado ... 

Dakota 

Idaho 

Iowa 

Kansas . . .. 
Louisiana . .. 
Minnesota .. 
Montana .. 
Nebraska . .. 
Nevada . . . . 
New Mexico 

Oregon 

TTtah 

W.Tshincton 
Wisconsin . . 
Wj'ouiing . . . 

Total . 



93,246 



11, 866. 08 

231. 92 

168,413.53 

15.3,373.87 

, 890, 802. 15 

141,903.25 

5.5, 151. 51 

, 594, 775. 49 

3, 417. 85 

, 510, 382. 56 

63, 273. 25 

,3.58,1.55.60 

4, 120. 00 

11,619.13 

232, 9.54. 86 

16, 144. .59 

476, 841. 52 

40.00 

3, 679 21 



13, 677, 146. 37 



THE NECESSITY OF PRESERVING AND REPLANTING FORESTS. 



In the report of R. W. Phipps, esq., of Toronto, on "The necessity of 
preserving and replanting forests," I find a sketch of forests and their 



14 AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

management in other countries, to which I call your attention as one 
of the most comprehensive statements we have had on this subject. 
His sketch, which is here abridged, is taken from an extensive report 
of Captain Walker, a gentleman who passed nine months on the conti- 
nent, by direction of the English Government, for that i)urpose. 

From Mr. Phipps I learn that in Piano ver there are 900,000 acres of 
forest, under government or state management, belonging to the church 
and to municipalities. The care and working of these forests costs 
about $050,000 annual]}". The receipts therefrom are $1,500,000, and 
the i^rofit is about $850,000, about $1,50 i)er acre per annum. The ofli- 
cers in charge are a forest director, an over-forest master, 20 forest 
masters, 112 over- foresters having charge of districts of seven or eight 
thousand acres each, 403 assistant, foresters. A systenmtic plan for the 
management of the forest is adopted. 

After a forest lias, by tliiuniiig, planting, and so forth, been gradually got into })er- 
fect order, the system of natural reproduction forms a great part of the German 
method. It is as follows: 

The rotation and periods are fixed iu the working plan. For beech it is, in Hanover, 
120 j^ears, divided into six periods of 2U years each — that is to say, when the forest 
has been brought into order there should be nearly equal areas under crop of trees 
in each of the six periods, from one year to twenty, from twenty to forty, and so on. 
When a block arrives in the last period, fellitig is commenced by what is called a pre- 
paratory clearing, followed by a "clearing lor light" in the first year after seed has 
fallen, with the object of (1) pfeparing the ground for the seed, (2) allowing it to 
germinate, (3) affording light to the young seedlings. If there is a good seed year 
and sufficient rain, the ground should be covered with seedlings in two or three years 
after the first clearing; but it is better generally to wait for a second year, and aid 
nature by hand-sowing, transplanting from patches of many to the barer spots, and 
turning up the turf to give the seeds a better chance of germinating. 

When the ground is well covered, the old trees are felled and carefully removed, so 
as to do as little damage as possible to the new crop, and the block recommences life, 
so to speak, nothing further being done till the first thinning. The time allowed 
between the first and final clearings is from eight to fifteen years. * * * In these 
forests can be seen all the periods of growth — nurseries and schools for seedlings. 

In Prussia there are twenty millions of acres of forests, ten millions 
of which are private, and the remainder, with which we have more to 
do, state, commnnial, and ecclesiastical. Of these the income is 
$14,000,000, and the expenses $7,500,000, leaving $0,500,000 clear. The 
forests in Prussia as m Hanover form joart of the finance department, 
and are p^;esided over by an overland-forest-master and ministerial di- 
rector, aided by a revenue councillor and joint ministerial director, and 
a numerous council or board. There are two forest academies, one near 
Berlin and one in Hanover. 

There are 12 provinces in Prussia, divided into 30 circles, each having 
an over- forest master. These represent the forest department in local 
administrations, which as a board represents the forest interests in the 
government. 

In order to be a forest-master, the lowest of the gazetted appoint- 



AMEEICAN FORFSTEY CONGRESS. 15 

ments, 5 years without pay are required to be giveu in study, witb but 
meager pay when employed, yet candidates are uumerous. 

lu some i)roviuces the Prussian Government bas certain rigbta con- 
cerning tbe management of private forests; in otbers, none. 

In Saxony tbe state forests are nearly 400,000 acres, worked at an 
expense of $500,000, receiving $1,750,000, leaving a clear rental of $3 
per acre. Tbe expenditure is ])lauting, draining, roads, improvement 
of inferior woods, felling, transport, kiUing insects, &c. About 5,000 
are planted yearly, at an average cost of $7.50 per acre. The oflBcial 
establishment resembles that of Hanover. There is a forest academy 
at Tharandt with a separate staff of professors. 

In Bavaria the state forests cover 3,000,000 acres. They return, after 
paying all exi)enses, about $1.50 per acre per annum. About 30,000 
acres are planted or sown annually, taking 35,000,000 plants and 
1,000,000 pounds of seed. Persons found guilty of breach of forest 
rules have been punished by enforced labor in the woods. Private for- 
est rights are being bought up by the government. The system of man- 
agement is much the same as that previously described. 

In Austria the state forests have been largely sold to meet state ne- 
cessities, but there still remain nearly 2,000,000 productive acres, which 
yield, however, after expenses are paid, little over twenty-five cents per 
acre. The existing establishments of forestry are not uniform, but there 
are about l,2iiO employes, of whom 22 are forest-masters. Scientific 
forestry is not so far advanced here as in Germany, but officials are 
busily introducing a reorganization, by means of which, there is no 
doubt, it will be on a par with other states. The Austrian crown forests 
have been neglected. There has been till now no attempt at rotation of 
blocks, or working in periods. The present director is trying hard to 
change matters for the better. He is planting up many bare or ill-cov- 
ered tracts, where natural reproduction is impossible, owing to the ab- 
sence of standard trees. 

In the Grand Duchy of Baden there is a most interesting private 
forest belonging to the Prince of Furstenburgh, in the Black Forest. 
There are about 72,000 acres in charge of IS foresters and over-foresters, 
who have many subordinates. 

The administration of forests in France is intrusted to the ministry 
of finance, and the head of the department is the director-general, as- 
sisted by two administrators, one charged with the management of the 
forests and the sale of the products, the other with the police of the 
forests and the forest laws. Tne forests under the management of the 
bureau (state or commerce) are about 7,500,000 acres. Also, there are 
in France 15,000,000 acres of private forests. The saw-mills in the for- 
ests are usually owned by the government, and hired at a certain rate 
to the wood merchants, who buy the cuttings. The school of forestry 
at Nancy is said to be one of the best in the world. The French Gov- 
ernment have, at great expense, replanted vast and almost barren dis- 



16 AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

tricts; tliej^ have also established great forests along the seashore where 
formerlj^ the sand threatened to destroy whole departments, and have 
averted the evil. 

In Eussia, the government own about 330,000,000 acres of woods, 
and other parties 150,000,000. About 40 percent, of the country (Rus- 
sia in Europe) is timbered. The immense government woods have 
been placed under the care of the minister of public domains, who has 
a director of the forest department, and the organization of the service 
is very complete. Two special schools of agriculture and forestry have 
been established; one at St. Petersburg, and one near Moscow. 

Italy has over 5,000,000 acres of communal forests, over 0,000,000 of 
private forests, and only 500,000 acres of state forests. One-fifth of the 
land is in forest. 

]n Switzerland, the waste of forests has been more rapid and destruc- 
tive than any other country in Europe, and in none, perhaps, has this 
been followed by more disastrous results. Public attention has, how- 
ever, been thoroughly awakened, and active measures are in progress 
to remedy, as far as may be, these evils. The cantons which have charge 
of these operations have for some time, at great expense, been con- 
structing works to control the streams, and planting trees wherever 
practicable. 

The description of the forests in the British Isles, as given by Captain 
Walker, from whom Mr. Phipps obtained his facts, is most interesting, 
and shows, as do those to which I have already referred, that the busi- 
ness of forestry is entitled to the most careful consideration of states and 
individuals. 

VARIETY AND AGE. 

In the practical work of planting forest trees there would seem to be 
a propriety in following the example of nature and giving variety, mix- 
ing trees of early maturity with those of great longevity, that the for- 
mer may be cut when the great size of the latter should command an 
ampler space. Thus afterthe usual consecutive thinnings for hoop-poles, 
fence posts, railroad ties, or other purposes, the mature trees of the genus 
of least longevity could be taken out, leaving the veterans of the plan- 
tation to mature their more valuable crop of heavy timber. 

In this connection the consideration of the proper age for cutting with 
profit is important. Mr. Michie reports his recent observation of a 
plantation in Great Britain sixty-five years old, partly cut down, in 
which 85 per cent, of a growth of mixed hard woods was deceased from 
over ripeness. The plantation should have been cut at fifty years. The 
proprietor all this time was losing a part of the value of his wood, and 
losing the growth of fifteen years of young trees. He cites an example 
of an ash growth the root cuts of which were ''tough as whalebone" 
at fifty-five years, while at seventy-five all toughness had disappeared 
and more than half its value lost. It should have been cut down and 
replanted at the age first named. The ash should have a clean and 
straight stem, and be cut while yet in rapid growth and full vitality. 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS.' 17 

In Eiijiland, the larch, asli. and pophir, are ripe at fifty to sixty years, 
while the oaks planted among them may coutinue to grow one hundred 
to one hundred and fifty years, and a second crop of the earlier matur- 
ing species be matured among the oaks. Mr. Michie places the mature 
age of the elm at eighty to one hundred years. 

METEOROLOGICAL INFLUENCES. 

The influence of forests on rainfall has been so frequently and exhaust- 
ively discussed that little of value can here be added. From ten thou- 
and observations made in Parana the mean annual temperature of the 
forest soil was found to be 21° lower than in the open field, and the 
mean annual temperature of the atmosphere of the forest 10° lower 
than in the open field. Relative moisture was found to be 6 per cent, 
greater than in the open field, 9 per cent, in summer and 5 in the other 
seasons. In the mountain regions the difference was greater than at 
lower elevations. 

It is not necessary to assume that forests induce a heavier rainfall, or 
even to show that they influence locally the distribution of rain, to prove 
their beneficence in regulating the moisture available for the use of ag- 
riculture. The foliage of forests resists the violence of storms, breaks 
the force of the rainfall which percolates through the covering of leaves 
and moss, and is absorbed b}^ the humus beneath to be given out by the 
slow j)rocess of retarded evaporation, the surplus finding its way to the 
springs deep in the earth. In an open field the storm beats with un- 
broken violence upon a surface impacted and hardened under the rays 
of the sun, fails to penetrate the soil, and rushes on in turbid streams 
down the slopes to swell the brooks and rivers, and instead of refreshing 
the earth scarifying and wasting it. 

The world is full of examples of once verdant and productive areas 
which have become burned and blackened deserts. The gradual des- 
iccation of the once green and productive islands of the West Indies, 
Santa Cruz and Saint Thomas, which has been progressive for many 
years, is the result of the destruction of primitive forests. The little 
island of Curagoa, where rich plantations, beautiful villas, and terraced 
gardens have given place to aridity and desolation because of the ex- 
port of its valuable timber, is a striking illustration of the changes 
wrought by forest destruction. The entire coast of the Mediterranean, 
once the garden of the world, has been blighted into comparative bar- 
renness by the denudation of the forest areas. A portion of this ter- 
ritory, the Karst region of Southern Austria, bordering on the Adriatic, 
has been the scene of extensive reaftbresting work by the Austrian 
Government. Centuries ago it was covered with magnificent oak for- 
ests, and furnished piles and ship-building timber to Venice during her 
brilliant maritime career. So dense was the forest upon the Istrian 
coast that a squirrel could traverse it for miles on the branches of the 
trees. It was plundered systematically by Venetian spoilers till the 
whole region was reduced to barrenness and poverty. For a score of 
4408 LOR 2 



18 AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

miles nortli of Trieste the soil itself was waslied away by the floods 
after the exportation of timber had been followed by relentless fires^ 
leaving the bare rock in rugged masses as the sole covering of the sur- 
face. The work of restoration, commenced nearly twenty years ago^ 
was one of exceeding difficulty. Exposure to sun and rain had ex- 
hausted the fertility of any remaining forest humus; the underlying 
masses of chalk were seamed and honej'combed with cavities requiring 
a mixture of underlying clay to sprout either grass-seed or tree-seed. 
Millions of trees were annually supplied by the Government nurseries 
of Austrian pine, ash, larch, and other varieties, and year after year the 
slow and patient effort has been continued with results that promise 
the ultimate renovation of a vast area of several hundred thousand 
trees, though the blasted district is yet a scene of comparative desola- 
tion, requiring millions of treasure and years of patient labor to restore 
a tithe of its profusion of forest wealth. 

The productive capacity of the United States is due not alone to the 
great fertility of its central areas but, in a large measure, to the amount 
and reasonable distribution of the rainfall. The lower latitudes, the 
Southern States, where high temperatures prevail and evaporation is 
greatest, have a rainfall of 40, 50, and 60 inches annually, with a liberal 
distribution through the summer months. The lake region and the 
Ohio basin have less, yet a good supply, suited to more temperate con- 
ditions, a lower temperature and less evaporation. Yet the droughts 
that occasionally prevail, and which are most severe on the borders of 
the wooded belt, as in Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois, should ad- 
monish us to avail ourselves of the local benefits of forests in the equal- 
ization and conservation of the rainfall actually received. 

Some of the States have less than the rule of the Duke of Burgundy 
requires : " One-third to the hunter, two-thirds to the husbandman.'^ 
The rule of William Penn, one acre in woods for five acres cleared for 
agricultural lands, exclusive of the wooded hills and mountain forests,. 
was not materially less. Yet Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut 
in New England have less than a third of the farm lands in forest ;^ 
New York, 22 per cent. ; New Jersey, 24 ; Pennsylvania, 29 ; Delaware,^ 
26; Ohio but 24 j)er cent.; Michigan, 32; Indiana, 29; Illinois, 16. 
These are originally wooded States, except a part of Indiana and Illinois. 

The necessity of a careful and accurate cultivation and restoration 
of Our forests is now recognized by all. For three-quarters of a cen- 
tury we have been busily engaged in the business of lumbering; th& 
time has now come when we must turn our attention to the business^ 
of forestry. The great wood crop, wliich nature lavished on our ances- 
tors, has been so diligently gathered that all our ingenuity will be taxed 
to continue the necessary supply for the growing wants of a rapidly 
increasing population. It is to this point tliat this association should 
especially turn its attention. It is to this point that I have directed 
the work of the Forestry Division in the United States Department of 
Agriculture for the devehjpment of the forest industry of this country. 



APPENDIX 



THE FORESTS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT IN OTHER COUNTRIES. 

[Frovi the report of E. "W. Phipps, Esq., Toronto.] 
HANOVER. 

Its forests uuder State maiiagenient amoiiut to 900,000 acres. Some are Goverumeut, 
some church, some belong to mnuicipalities or communes. Government manages the 
forests hy oflQcers appointed, while the community pay four cents per acre towards 
the pay of the officers. The method appears to be that of giving the owners as much 
wood, pasture, or litter for manure as their original right to the forest entitled them 
to; but to give it at the hands of Government ofiflcials. If the forest is of sufficient 
extent to employ a special officer, the commune, instead of the four cents, are charged 
his pay and allowances, as well as other working charges. 

The Government forests are about 600,000 acres of the above, and the cost of work- 
ing and all expenses is about $6.50,000 annually, the receipts being $1,500,000 and the- 
proiit therefore $650,000, or, taking the actual tigures, about $1.50 per acre per annum. 
This, of course, takes no account of the value of the laud, or what it might rent or 
sell for if cleared. 

Hanover is a province of Prussia. The head office is therefore in Berlin. The 
forest establishment of Hanover consists of 1 forest director and over-forest master, 
who is also a councillor; 20 forest-masters in charge of circles or divisions, forming 
also a board of management in all forest matters; 112 over-foresters in charge of forest 
districts (rerier), averaging seven or eight thousand acres each ; 403 foresters who assist 
the over- foresters, and have charge of portions of a district; 343 overseei-s, nndei'-for- 
esters, Ae., employed in watching and protecting the forest, and supervising the- 
work which is executed by hired weekly or daily labor, or on contract under super- 
vision of the fixed establishments. A cash-keeper is attached to each over-forester,, 
who receives and disburses all moneys out of the forest cash chest, with which the 
over-forester has nothing to do, although his accounts should, of course, tally with 
those of the cash-keeper. For payment of laborers, &c.,he gives orders on the cash- 
kee^ier, whose books are examined by the forest-master in charge of the division, ami 
accounts rendered to the head office in Hanover and thence to Berlin. 

All the forests have been surveyed, valued, and. divided into blocks in this manner : 

Besides those already enumerated, there is, for the sole purpose of measuring, valu- 
ing, and framing working plans for the forest, a superintendent, draughtsman, and 
clerks, generally practical foresters, and a staff of surveyors and forest valuators, who 
are generally candidates for the position of over- forester. 

When a forest was about to be taken in hand and worked systematically, a surveyor 
and valuator were dispatched to the spot, the former working under the directions of 
the latter, who placed himself in comnuinication with the local forest officer and the- 
inhabitants interested, and obtained from them all the information in his power. 
The surveyor first surveyed the whole district, then the different divisions as pointed! 
out by the valuator, who defined them according to the description of the timber 
standing, and any conditions affecting the nature of the trees to be grown in future. 

19 



20 AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

While the surveyoi- did this, the valuator valued the trees, formed a register of rights 
with a view to coiucnatation, considered the best plan of working the forest, the 
roads, in fact, all which enabled hiui to foim a plan for the head office, and a subor- 
dinate plan to be handed over to the executive officer as his "standing orders." 

The valuator and surveyor return to headquarters, and prepare the maps and plans, 
•which are submitted to the board of forest-masters, the forest-director, and other 
-councillors of the finance department, who are thus prepared to listeu to any objec- 
tion^ made by communities or individuals, which are very rarely made now, as the 
people have learned that the action of the officers is not adverse to their interests, 
and are willing to allow them to settle matters. 

The executive officer has thus in his hands ma^is showing each division of the forest 
tract in his charge, and instructions — the quantity to be felled yearly, the extent to 
be planted, the state in which the forest should be ten, twenty, or a hundred years 
after the ])lans were made, all calculated — so that the over-forester has only to carry 
out the instructions given him, allowance being made for unavoidable difficulties — 
failure of seed, occurrence of storms, and the like. 

The forest-masters have no executive work, but control four to six over-foresters, 
of whose labors they make frequent reports to the director (both in forest and office 
work). The over-foresters give annual reports of ojjerations. They spend most of 
their time in the forest, supervising the felling; planting,' sowing, thinning, carting, 
and selling of timber. The laying down of roads is done by a forest officer, but the 
actual work is carried out by the local officer, who has also much office work, giving 
grazing licenses, etc., and preparations of returns ; but his work is out of doors com- 
pared to that of the forest- master, who has more office work, comparing operations 
and rates in the districts, collecting statistics, settling disputes, and as a member of 
the forest committee, revising working plans. 

The main object aimed at in any scientilic forestry is to convert the natural forest 
consisting of trees, young and old, good and bad, too thick and too thin, into blocks 
of trees of the better description, of the same age, and capable of being worked — that 
is, thinned out, felled, and reproduced, or replanted, in succession, a block being taken 
in hand each year. In carrying out such a system, considerations must be attended 
to, such as the relation of the block to the whole forest system; the needs of the peo- 
ple in timber, firewood, leaves for manure, and pasturage; the soil, the situation as 
regards winds (which must be attended to in felling to lessen damage), and precau- 
tions against insects, fire, trespass, or theft. 

The plans need revising every twenty years, though it is marvelous to notice to 
what an extent the original scheme has generally answered. 

After a forest has (to give some idea of management), by thinning, planting, and se 
forth, been gradually got into perfect order as described, the system of natural repro. 
duction forms great i)art of the German method. It is as follows: 

The rotation and periods are fixed in the working plan. For beech " hochwald" it 
is in Hanover one hundred and twenty years, divided into six periods of twenty years 
each ; that is to say, when the forest has been brought into order there should be 
nearly equal areas under crop of trees in each of the six periods — that is, from one yea-^ 
to twenty ; from twenty years to forty, and so on. When a block arrives in the las 
period, felling is commenced by what is called a preparatory clearing, followed by 
a "clearing for light" in the first year after seed has fallen (the beech seeds every 
fourth or fifth year), with the .object of, (1), preparing the ground for the seed; 
(2), allowing it to germinate; (3), affordiag light to the young se'edliugs. If there 
is a good seed-year and sufficient rain, the ground should be covered with seed, 
lings in two or three years after the first clearing; but it is better generally to wait 
for a second seed-year, and aid nature by hand-sowing, transplanting from patches of 
many to the barer spots, and turning up the turf to give the seeds a better chance of 
germinating. 

When the "round is well covered the old trees are felled and carefullv removed, so 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 21 

as to do as little damage as possible to tbe new crop, and the block recommences life, 
so to speak, nothing further being done till the lirst thinning. The time allowed be- 
tween the lirst and final clearings is from eight to fifteen years. But in many provinces 
they do away with this system, and remove the old trees so gradually that there can 
hardly be said to be any clearing at all, the new crop of trees being well advanced 
before the last of the old trees is removed. 

In these forests can be seen all the periods of growth — nurseries and schools for 
seedlings, which are transferred thither, at the age of two to four years, fronj the 
seed beds, and are pruned and transplanted as often as seems required till finallj- 
planted out, sometimes not till twelve or fourteen years old. There are many methods 
of planting adopted here. Tlie steepest and most rocky sides of the hills are covered 
with forests, which have been created by the labors of the forest department. In 
many such places, where even the few haudfuls of soil placed round the young tree 
had to be carried some distance, it is not contended that the first plantations will 
yield a pecuniary profit, but the improvement in climate by the retention of the 
moisture and reclamation of large tracts formerly barren and unproductive is taken 
into account; besides which the dropping of leaves and needles from the trees will 
ere long create a soil and vegetation, and insure the success of plantations in future 
years and consequent surplus. 



Prussia has 20,000,000 of acres of forests, 10,000,000 of which are private, and the 
remainder, -with which we have more to do, state, commercial, and ecclesiastical. 
Of these the income is $14,000,000, and the expenses .|7,.500,000, leaving $6,500,000 
clear. This will not show much, in fact not more than G5 cents per acre, but there 
are other returns of more than mere yearly revenue imjiortauce. When it is consid- 
ered that this result is arrived at without trenching on tho capital or stock of timber 
in the forests which, on the contrary, is being increased and improved in every 
province of the kingdom, and that the indirect value to the people of many forest 
privileges, which they exercise free of charge, must be very great, not to mention the 
benefit to all in the shape of public recreation grounds and an improved climate, 
some idea may be arrived at of the enormous value and benefit such a system of state 
forests must confer on Prussia. 

The forests, as alrea(Jy stated concerning Hanover, form part of the finance depart- 
ment, and are presided over by an overland-forest-master and ministerial director, 
aided by a revenue councillor and joint ministerial director, and a numerous council 
or board. 

There are two forest academies, one near Berlin and one in Hanover. The over- 
land-forest-master is curator of tho academies, and at the head of each is an over- 
forest-master, who is aided by a numerous staff of professors and assistant professors. 

There are twelve provinces in Prussia, divided into thirty circles, and to each an 
over-forest-master, who is appointed to represent the forest department in the council 
of local ad'i inistration, and is aided by councillors and by the forest-masters as a 
board, to represent foi'est interests in the Government. Next in order come the forest- 
masters, numbering 108, in charge of divisions with an average area of 60,000 acres, 
and then the executive officers, 706 over-foresters, to each of whom is 7,000 acres, and 
to each of whom is attached a cash-keeper, and 3,646 foresters, or overseers with 
ranges of 1,000 to 3,000 acres. 

At the academy near Berlin are seven professors with assistants. There is an ex- 
perimental garden attached, with an over-forester in charge of the technical portion, 
and professors for the meteorological, zoological, and chemical sections. The number 
of students averages sixty-five. The varied apparatus includes a building where the 
set-d is dried and separated from the cones, large seed-beds of spruce, fir, and willow, 
full opportunities of transplanting seedlings, and examples of every kind of trees for 
botanical studv. 



22 AMERICA*N FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

There i8 here a museum, rich iu specimens of all sorts of birds, animals, and insects 
found in the forests. In cases where the animal or insect does damage to trees, speci- 
mens of the branch, bark, leaf, or cone, in a healthy state, and after being attacked, 
are exhibited close to each, so that the students can see at a glance the nature of the 
damage and connect it with the animal which causes it. Thus we have squirrels, 
rats, beavers, mice, set up gnawing the barks, grubbing at the roots, &c. Insects 
are shown in the several stages of their existence — larvfe, chrysalis, caterpillar, moth, 
with their ramifications in the stem or branches of the tree. These, with specimen 
blocks of almost all descriptions of timber, form a most instructive collection. There 
is a forest district attached, remarkable for the growth of Scotch fir and spruce on a 
poor sandy soil, and in spite of repeated attacks by insects. 

Nothing is more remarkable than the extent of study required from forest candi- 
dates, and the number of years they are content to spend in studying or waiting an 
appointment. The would-be over-forester, which is the lowest of the gazetted ap- 
pointments, must pass certain terms at a Government school, a year in a district with 
an over-forester, an examination as forest-pupil, two years at a forest academy, an ex- 
amination in scientific forestry and land surveying. He is then a forest-candidate. 
Then two years' practical study, nine mouths of it doing duty as an actual forester ; 
then another examination. He is now an over-forester capdidate. The first exami- 
nation tests his theory; the second his practice. Then he will be occasionally em- 
ployed in the academies, or in charge of a district, only then getting allowances. 
After five years of this he may look for steady employment. 

Thus five years without pay are given iu study; five iu probation with but meager 
pay when employed, and the time is often longer, before regularly installed. Yet so 
great is the desire for Government — especially forest— service, that there are numer- 
ous candidates. 

The qualifications for admission into the subordinate grades — forester, sub-forester, 
■overseer — have a military tendency. Candidates, after two years in the forest, enter 
a jager battalion, and bind themselves for twelve years' service. After three years 
they obtain leave, and are employed in the forest as huntsmen or gamekeepers. After 
eight years they must have passed the forester's test, which consists in six months' 
■charge of a district, and an examination. At the end of twelve years they are dis- 
■charged with a certificate entitling them to employment in the forest establishments. 
The appointments are much sought after, and in 1867 there were tw^o hundred and 
tw^enty-one applicants for one hundred and forty-five vacancies; but many are ab- 
sorbed by communal and private forests. 

In some provinces the Prussian Government has certain rights concerning the man- 
agement of even private forests ; iu others none. 

While on the subject of Prussia, it may be well here to insert some extracts from a 
letter received from Baron Von Steuben, a Prussian noblemen, now royal chief fores- 
ter of the German Empire, by the Forestry Congress, at Cincinnati, 'in April of last 
year. He remarks : 

"There can be no doubt that every country requires a certain quantity of well- 
stocked woods, not only to supply the demands for building material and fuel, but 
move especially to secure suitable meteorological conditions, to preserve the fertility 
of the soil, and out of sanitary considerations. The ratio of the minimum quantity 
and Judicious local distribution of the indispensable forest to the aggregate area can- 
not be expressed by a universal rule, but the same can only be approximated by scien- 
tific investigation. Above all things, it is essential to prevent forest destruction 
where such would injuriously aft'ect the fertility of the soil. It is important, then, to 
preserve and to cultivate judiciously those forests which stand at the head-waters 
and on the banks of the larger streams, because, through their indiscriminate de- 
struction, fluctuations in the stage of water, sand-bars, and inundations of arable, 
lands are occasioned. It appears also necessary to preserve and properly to cultivate 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 23 

^•oods iu quicksands, or the summits a,nd ridges, as well as on the steep sides of mouut- 
aius, along the sea-coasts, and fitlier exposed localities. 

"In Germany, and especially iu my more narrow-bounded Fatherland, Prussia, it 
Is regarded as of the greatest importance, not only to preserve the forests already 
there, hut to extend them as much as possible. 

" In the national appropriation bill large sums are set apart for the purchase of 
such lands as are unfit for cultivation, and for utilizing the same by planting trees. 

"With reference to forests owned by private individuals, they are not restrained in 
the use of their forests, and may, according to their own judgment, clear the same and 
till the soil, in short, do what they like, and yet there may be certain restrictions 
placed on the free use of the same as soon as danger to the common welfare is feared ; 
these restrictions are prescribed by the law of July 5, 1875, relative to forest protec- 
tion. 

"This law is applicable in cases — 

"1. Where, by reason of the sandy nature of the soil, adjoining lands, or public 
grounds, natural or artificial courses, are in danger of being covered with sand. 

"2. Where, through the washing away of the soil, or through the formation of cas- 
cades in open places on the ridges of hills and on hillsides, the arable lauds, streets, or 
buildings lying below are in danger of being covered with earth or stone, or of being 
flooded ; or the lands or public grounds or buildings lying above are in danger of 
^sliding. 

"3. Where, through the destruction of the forests along the banks of canals or nat- 
ural streams, riparian lands are in danger of caving, or buildings hitherto protected 
by the woods are iu danger of iceflows. 

"4. Where, through the destruction of forests, rivers are in danger of a diminution 
of the stage of the water. 

".5. Where, through the destruction of forests in open places and near the lakes, 
neighboring fields are seriously exposed to the detrimental influences of winds. 

" In the cases above mentioned, which have been copied verbatim from the statute 
liook, the manner of use as well as the culture of forests may be legally ordered, in 
•order to prevent those dangers where the dangers to he averted are considerably in 
-excess of the damages which would result to the owner by reason of the restrictions." 



The state forests are nearly 400,000 acres, worked at an expense of $500,000, receiv- 
ing $1,750,000, leaving a clear rental of $3 per acre. The expenditure is planting, 
draining, roads, improvement of inferior woods, felling, transport, killing insects, 
&,c. About 5,000 acres are planted yearly, at an average cost of $7.50 per acre. 

The fixed establishment is 1 inspector, 15 over-forest-masters, 120 district foresters, 
1(3 cash-keepers, 13 engineers, 27 foresters, and 83 sub-foresters. 

There is a forest academy at Tharandt, with a separate staff of professors. 

The system of planting now principally experimented on is much the same as that 
previously described, the young trees being several feet high before the old trees are 
all removed. One operation is noticeable. It was decided to convert a mixed hard- 
wood forest, patchy and irregular, with impoverished soil, in 1820, into a coniferous 
forest, and maps were drawn showing what it would be iu eighty years. Private 
intersecting lands have been bought up, and by 1900 the ideal chart will be actual. 
Already, iu place of a straggling wood, irregularly covered with timber trees of infe- 
rior growth, we have now a compact close forest, regularly wooded in sections of dif- 
ferent ages, principally spruce and Scotch tir, but containing also hue oak, ash, and 
beech, with straight and clean stems. In many cases the young oaks have been left 
where jiiues were planted, and the introduction of the latter has had a wonderfully 
^ood eftect on the oaks. 

All private rights were abolished and compensated in these forests by a bill passed 
in 1832. 



24 AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

BAVARIA. 

The state forests are 3,000,000 acres. They return, after paying all expenses, abont 
$1.50 per acre per annum. About 30,000 acres are planted or sown annually, taking 
35,000,000 plants and 1,000,000 pounds seed. Persons found guilty of breach of forest 
rules';have been punished by enforced labor in the woods. Private forest rights are 
being bought up by the Government. 

The system of management is much the same as that previously described. There 
id a forest academy at Aschaflfenburg, with one hundred and sixty-iive students. 

It will be interesting to notice the injury and process of repair in the fine forests of 
the Spessart in Bavaria. The deterioration was caused by felling the forest trees as 
soon as, or before, they were mature, the impoverishment of the soil by the removal 
of leaves and litter, and the allowing dense underwood to grow unchecked. Inferior 
trees got the upper hand and prevented the growth of good, while they drained the 
already impoverished soil and gave nothing in return. Early in the present century 
the matter attracted attention, and every means have since been adopted to grow 
oaks, beech, and couiferae. The result is, though not yet equal to the uniforu»ity of 
other forests, nowhere can one find finer clumps and individual trees. Inferior trees 
will soon be rare in the whole forest. In remote portions where the humus had not 
been destroyed, the growth of beech and oak is truly magnificent, tracts of 120- year 
old beech and 300-year old oaks being common, the latter with clear trunks rnnniug 
up to a hundred feet high. "When we compare these with other portions where the 
crippled and stunted appearance of the trees shows tlie effect of unregulated grazing 
and loss of litter, burning of the decayed wood, and forest theft and mischief, or the 
soil and vegetation, the result is maiked. The circumstances, says the Indian com- 
missioner, are analogous with what has gone on in India for centuries, and is still 
more or less permitted. The vast extent of forests, which once clothed the hillsides 
and extended far oxit on the plains, and the luxuriant growth of the tropics, have 
hitherto, or until the last two years, prevented the gradual deterioration of our for- 
ests being marked or felt, but the subject has now attracted attention, and none too 
soon. . If any have doubts in the matter, let them visit the Spessart, study the history 
of its forests, and judge for themselves. 

The forests are sharply protected by law, the average number of prosecutions annu- 
ally being thirty per thous^d acres. The crimes are mischief to wood, pasture, gras?.. 
straw, and miscellaneous. 

AUSTKIA. 

Scientific forestry is not so far advanced as in Germany, but officials are busily in' 
troducing a reorganization, by means of which, there is no doubt, it will soon be on 
a par with other .states. 

The state forests have been largely sold to meet state necessities, but there still re- 
main nearly 2,000,000 productiA'^ acres, which yield, however, after expenses are paid^ 
little over twenty-five cents per acre. 

The existing establishments of forestry are not uniform, but there are about 1,200 
employe's, of whom 22 are torest masters. Some of these have almost sinecures, while 
otliers have six times too much to do, and it is the same with those in the subordinate 
ranks. The forest academy is at Mariabruuu, near Vienna. There are about 35 
students. " 

The collections are fine, possessing siiecimens of all instruments and appliances 
made use of in felling, squaring, sawing, carting, and preparing timber, models of 
saw-mills and machinery of all descriptions, plans of river beds improved and em- 
banked for floating, sluices of all sorts, dams and piers for directing rafts in their 
course and catchiug fire-wood, models of rafts, and specimens of home and foreign 
timber of all kinds. The damage done by animals and insects is also exhibited here 
comprehensively. There is also a forest garden attached to the academy for the in- 
struction of the students. 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 25 

The staff of the academy consists of the director, 13 professors and assistant pro- 
fessors, with subordinates in the account office, laboratory, &c. There is also a forest 
school at Bruhl, for training young men (of whom 8 were there) as practical foresters. 

The greater number of those trained here are intended for private and not for Gov- 
ernment service, their expenses for board and lodging being paid by noblemen and 
large proi^rietors, from whose estates they come and to whom they return as forest 
officers and workmen. The state maintains the schools and pays the professors' sal- 
aries, and there are no extra fees. This cannot fail to assist the intelligent manage- 
ment of the private forests of the empire, which are very extensive. The absence of 
numerous candidates for the Government forest service and the preference for private 
employment are noteworthy when compared with the opposite state of things in Prus- 
sia. The irregular promotion, lack of system, and low salaries in the Austrian forest 
service are the explanation. 

The Austrian crown forests have been neglected; they are patchy, with a low and 
decreasing yield per acre. There has been till now no attempt at rotation of blocks 
or working in periods. As is found in India, a glance at the outskirts of the forest 
would lead one to suppose it fairly stocked with timber, but a more careful inspection 
proves that this is not the case, and that only in the valleys aud more remote portions, 
where the soil is particularly good and the ax has not been so frequent in its inroads^ 
is there a fair aud regular crop. 

Herr Schuppitch, the present director, is trying hard to change matters, and is 
changing the hardwood crop, which has exhausted the soil for that class, with pine 
growths, which, besides, grow quicker aud pay better. He is also dividing into blocks 
and periods, and iilanting up many bare or ill-covered tracts, where natural repro- 
duction is impossible owing to the absence of standard trees. 

GRAND DUCHY OF BADEN. 

We shall now notice a private forest, that of the Prince of Furstenburgh, in the 
Black Forest. The receipts and expenditures are not obtainable, as are the public ones- 
but vve are iufonued that the forests are economically worked, and that the liberal 
sums expended on road-making, titting rivers for floating, housing foresters, &c., were 
well repaid by the facilities secured and contentment and zeal of the employ6s. In 
the case of this, as of other private forests, it is evident that a private individual is 
not burdened with considerations of policy and public good as in a state. The for- 
ests are, therefore, worked with the best profit compatible with their retention as 
capital. 

There are about 72,000 acres, in charge of eighteen foresters and over-foresters, who 
of course have many subordinates. The method employed is the slow felling and con- 
tinual reproduction before mentioned, a block being after forty years in clearing before 
all the old are replaced by new trees. Attention aud intelligence are necessary, for 
the seed will not grow nor the seedlings flourish without enough light, aud the forest 
officer must watch that they get it ; and again much greater care is needed in felling 
and hauling away when the trees are surrounded by lofty saplings and young trees 
than when the seedlings of the next crop are not more than a foot or two high. In 
this the axmen of the Black Forest are adepts, and the damage very slight to what it 
■would be in other hands. 

It may be useful to describe their manner of bringing timber down the rivers. It 
cannot here be done when the stream is in flood; in fact, the less water in it the bet- 
ter so long as sufficient is stored up above to float the rafts. Reservoirs are made, and 
the water poured into the river bed when the raft is ready. The streams are often 
small, of only fifteen or twenty feet in width, and have to be prepared for floating, 
by being cleared of any large rocks or bowlders, aud " sleepered," if we may use the- 
expression, by pieces of wood firmly fixed in the bed of the stream every few yards. 
These iirevent the formation of lioles in the bed, and serve for the raft to slide on if it 
touches the bottom. The first impression of the Indian commissioner when he saw 



^6 AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

Ihe float, composed of stems from twenty to sixty feet iu leugth tied together with 
withes at the ends and lying zigzag in the bed of a mountain stream, up aud down 
which they extended sixteen hundred feet, was that it was simply impossible they 
ever could be floated down the stream, with all its windings, and over the locks and 
rocks which occurred pretty frequently. It contained eight hundred aud eighty stems, 
•eight or ten of which abreast formed as it were a link in the raft. There were thirty 
links, not fastened laterally, but only at both ends to the next link. The breadth is 
greatest about two-thirds from the prow, which is narrow and consists of on ly three stems 
■abreast, with, in front of all, a piece formed of old wood and raised out of water like the 
bow of a whale-boat, so as to lead the raft, aud the largest and heaviest stems placed 
in the broadest part and towards the stern or hinder part, which does not taper at all. 
There are two or three brakes, by which the speed is slacked or the rait stopped if 
^needed. When all is ready, the water from above is let loose, aud the raft, perhaps 
not now lying in more than a foot of water, begius to, float a little but is not let go 
till two-thirds of the water is passed, as it is a curious fact that when let go, if there 
is much descent, it travels faster than the water, and has to be stopped to let the 
water get ahead again. The raft has ei^ht or ten men aud boys, one or two of whom 
stand by the master at the chief brake, on which the safety of all depends. 

When let go it i& exceedingly curious to see the forward part dart off at the rate of 
five miles an hour, and the several links which have been lying zigzag and perhaps 
iiigh and dry uncoil themselves and follow in its wake till the whole dashes along at 
great speed and apparently uncontrolled. Accidents are rare, as they are well trained 
f(lads of six or eight can be seen going down in miniature floats"); but for one not ac- 
customed to it, it is nearly impossible to stay on the raft at all, as it literally springs 
out of water on touching a rock, dashes round a rapid turn, or jumps a weir with a 
fall of several feet. Forty or fifty miles can be got over in a day if stoppages to let 
the water ahead are not too frequent or the stream is not swollen by rains. 

KEMARKS ON GERMANY. 

The Indian commissioner proceeds to remark on the German system of foresty. Per- 
liaps it will be here admissible that I make one myself. Let me say that, when we 
consider the immense extent and rapid growth of forests in India, the vast amount iu* 
Government hands, and yet find that they are so raj>idly deteriorating as to necessitate 
the dispatch of commissioners to Europe to learn the methods of preserving the forest, 
it is likely that Canada has just as much reason to bestir herself in the matter. Let us 
notice also, by some of the valuable tables Cajitain Walker has furnished, that in 
Germany and Prussia alone there are nearly 250,000,000 of acres of forests. We will 
well have already understood, by the foregoing pages, how di-fi'erent the great mass of 
these forests, with their great reserves of growing and well cared for trees, planned 
and prepared for many years, so that the forest can be depended on to give its regu- 
lar aud annual yield of valuable timber in i)erpetuity, are from our Canadian reserves, 
which are cut without regard to the future, and are fast disappearing before the com- 
bined assault of the settler and the lumberman. On asking where are we to look for 
a model or precedent on which to work, he replies : 

"To Germany, where the management of forests by the state has been carried on 
for hundreds of years. Not the mere planting of a few hundred acres here, or reserving 
a few thousand acres there, but a general system of forest management, commencing 
by a careful survey, stock-taking, definition and commutation of all rights and servi- 
tudes, careful experiments in the rate of growth, the best soil for each description of 
tree; in fact in every branch of the subject, and resulting in what we find to-day, 
Jiundreds of thousands of acres mapped, divided into periods and blocks, and worked 
to the best advantage both with regard to present aud future, and the annual yield 
of wliich uow, and for many years to come, is known and fixed to within a few hnn- 
<lred cubic feet." 

" The great difference," says the commissioner, " iu climate and local conditions be- 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 27 

tn-een India and. Germany would, doubtless, necessitate important modifications; but 
1 can see no reason wby the broad principles of organization and forest management 
should not be applied with success to our Indian forests, that is, gradually feeling our 
way as regards the best mode for the forest and the wishes and interests of the peo- 
ple and the state." 

I would here remark that this is still more applicable to Canada, as our climate pre- 
sents no difference of moment. 

"I do not think," he continues, "that we have much to learn from the Germans 
Avith regard to the planting and rearing of young trees; but it is with regard to the 
best method of managing groups or plantations that I consider we may with advant- 
age take a leaf out of their book. For instance, I would certainly introduce, in an 
experimental manner and on a very small scale, their system of rotation, clearing, 
and periods, and endeavor to bring forward a second crop before the first is otf the 
ground, encourage the growth of the better descriptions, and keep down the least valu- 
able, so as gradually to arrive at groups of trees of the same age, description, and class, 
and eventually at blocks worked in rotation, and containing always a sufficient stock 
of crop coming on to meet the requirements of future years. To arrive at all this the 
most careful observations ai\d experiments will have to be made as to the rate of 
growth and yield per acre of each description of forest, the conditions under which 
trees grow best and form the most timber, some requiring close and some open plant- 
ing, some nurses and some not; some, like the oak, requiring a great deal of light, 
while some, like the l)eech, do best for many years in the shade. All these points* 
and many more, demand attention, and till they are settled we shall be merely groping 
in the dark. In fact, I think it may be taken for granted that all we will do in the 
way of forestry in the Madras Presidency, during the present century at least, will, 
after all, be but experimentalizing, which fact, however, need in no way delay the 
demarkation, survey, and settlement of the forests." 

It may be said here that, if it be necessary to commence at once in India, it is 
probably more necessary in Canada, where the process of growth is so much less rapid. 

Concerning the capabilities of German foresters, the Captain says : 

" An over-forester, and even many of the foresters and overseers, can tell the name, 
local and botanical, of any tree, shrub, and plant, classify it, and state its uses; name 
and classify every beetle and insect in the forest, and know whether they are harm- 
less or destructive to trees, in what shape they do damage, and what are the best 
known preventive measures; inform you of the nature of the soil, and to what period 
the formation belongs; what trees will grow best, and why. All this is known thor- 
■ouglily, theoretically and practically. 

"Then as to the district, the exact yield, rate of growth, and annual increase in 
value of each block is thoroughly known and can be put down in figures at each mo- 
ment by the over-forester, who can tell at the commencement of each year how much 
timber he is going to cut and sell, and from what parts of the forest it is to come, how 
many acres have to be partially cleared for natural reproduction, how many to be 
planted, sown, thinner! , or planted up. The mere details of all this are left, as a rule, 
entirely to the subordinates, who thoroughly understand them. 

" The forest-masters in charge of divisions possess not only the theoretical and sci- 
entific knowledge acquired in the forest academy, and the practical experience gained 
Avhile they were over-foresters in charge of a district, but the more extended knowledge 
and wider views from their larger field for observation and comparison of causes and 
results. They are then qualified to decide most points, revise working plans, and su- 
pervise operations generally whilst settling complaints and complications in connec- 
tion Avith the forest administration, advising the local head of the department, and 
•compiling valuable reports and statistical information." 

THE BRITISH ISLES. 

Tbere are many forests, both Crown and private, in the British Islands, concerning 
which, as they appear to be managed on different systems, I shall merely state such 



28 AMERICAN FOEESTRY CONGRESS. 

points as seem to liave some bearing on possible operations in Canada, or may shovr 
the progress made in late years in planting and foresting operations. 

In the New Forest, Hami)8bire, contaiiiing 91,U00 acres, much has been planted 
with Scotch tir and larch in 1853, and with oak in 1857. What is noticeable is that 
the first, planted as nnrses, are planted here so much betbre the others (both are else- 
where frequently planted at once). It is done to establish the nurses, and give shelter 
from the cutting winds prevalent here. They transplant here from the first nursery 
to another — the last one near the ultimate destination of the trees. 

The Dean Forest, ia Gloucestershire, has 22,000 acres in all. The commissioner 
visited twelve plantations here, ranging from 1844 to the present year. Nurses and 
hardwood are put out together. 

In Scotland, the nurseries of Lawsou & Sons, near Edinburgh, are noticed* They 
contain 270 acres. There were 30,000,000 conifene seedlings in the beds. The pinus 
pinaster is largely nsed for planting on light sandy soils near the sea. 

Before sowing or forming the uurscty bed the laud is trcuched to fourteen inches., 
and a crop of potatoes taken off to clean it. In the following spring the seed beds are 
laid out, and the upper soil carelully prepared to suit the nature of the trees which 
are to be sown. Most of the coniferai prefer a light di'y soil with a considerable pro- 
portion of sand, and this has the advantage that the seedlings are easily shaken out 
and freed from each other for transplanting. In the case of Scotch fir and larch, the 
seed is sown in May or June, and left in the sepd bed for two seasons- The seedlings 
are then planted out in lines fourteen inches apart and three inches between each 
plant, are left thus for sometimes two years, and then plantejj out for good. It is 
thought better, if the frost can be prevented from killing the seedlings, to sow in 
April, and trausiilant one year after, or even the same autumn, as soon as the leaf bud 
is hard. The spruce requires two years in the seed beds, as its growth is slower than 
that of larch. The pinns pinasier, aitsiriaca, and laricio are sown in May or June, and 
transplanted the same autuuin into rows sis inches apart, the plants close together. 
Hence they are transplanted the following autumn, into rows fourteen inches apart, 
where they are left one or two years before being planted out. It is considered an 
object to shorten tap-roo s and encourage laterals. (This last idea, it will be noticed, 
may assist the tree ; but not that main object of forest preservation, the connection be- 
tween the upper and lower strata.) 

The Earl of Seafield's woods, in Strathspey, give an instance of the rapidity with 
which planting is going on in Scotland. There 60,000 acres, of which half are in tim- 
ber, yet so young that the commissioner saw little large wood ready to cut, but 
plenty of thinnings. The overseer intends gradually to plant the whole, so that, in 
course of time, a thousand acres could be cut annually and a thousand planted ont. 
which could not, it is said, fail to bring in a large revenue without trenching on the 
capital of timber. Three lines of Scoth fir the commissioner saw lifted and tied in 
bundles for planting ont. This was done expeditiously by the five-pronged fork, two 
men digging out the young trees, which are then lifted by women, the earth shaken 
off, and tied in bundles for planting. This list will give some idea of the pi'ogress on 
only one estate: Duthil Hill, 700 acres, jjlanted six years; Deshar, 1,100 acres, within 
seven years; Sluemore, 600 acres, five years; Eevock, 700 acres, four years; Bengalu- 
pin, 1,200 acres, six years; Ad vie, 300 acres, one year. 

A point here presents itself which, though it seems vague and not according with 
Canadian experience, it might be well to examine and find the meaning of. The 
Strathspey overseer considers that " in Strathspey, at least, the land should be left 
barren and untouched, after it is cleared of trees, itntil the natural herbage, whether 
heather, grass, or moss, which existed before the trees grew, recovers; and that if 
planted before this takes place, failure will result." 

It may be remarked that oak is now little planted here, its use for ship-building 
being much less tbau formerly; while even for backing for iron-clads it is abandoned 
in favor of teak, which has not the injurious effect on the iron produced by the con- 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 2d 

tact of oak. Scotch fir and larch are ranch planted, and are rapid in uatnral produc- 
tion. Whenever the natural vegetation has sprung up in places formerly covered with 
coniferous trees, the seeds germinate. This is then protected by wire fences with 
great success. In a large tract of self-sown forest in the Grantown district, inclosed 
aix years ago, the Scotch firs average six feet high, while individual trees run up to 
ten feet. 

Wire fence, tarred, three feet eight inches high, can be constrncted for seventeen 
tients per yard, posts and all, and is much used. After ten years, or when the trees 
have grown out of harm's way, pasture is sometimes let. Inclosed plantations for 
this purpose command 2s. dd. per acre, while ordinary hill side pasture gets but Gd. 

The Earl of Mansfield's woods, in Perthshire. These are about 10,000 acres. Plant- 
ing is going ou constantly. There are nine district foresters and a large staff of 
woodmen. A large plantation of Douglas pine is mentioned as doing remarkably 
well. They were planted in pits fifteen feet apart, fifteen inches square, and ten 
inches deep, with larch and Scotch fir n\irses at four feet apart. The pines average 
twenty-five feet in height. The nurses are being removed. The overseer disagrees 
with the Strathspey statement as to leaving the land bare, and considers that it is 
•rtnly the insects (the beetle) which hinder the growth of seedlings on land cleared of 
conifers. He succeeds well by excluding cattle for one year, letting the grass, &c. , 
grow, then burning it when dry, and planting out. 

The Unke of Athol's woods, in Perthshire, comi)riao 10,000 acres, and were com- 
menced in 1728, principally with larch, which has done well in places, but is now 
undergoing the subsbitution of Scotch fir, which pays better. Oak coppice cut at 
intervals of twenty years yields $60 per acre. 

FORESTS OF LUSS AND THE HARZ. 

Another gentleman, M. Gustav Maun, Conservator of Forests in Bengal, has pro- 
ceeded to Germany for the same purpose as Captain Walker, and gives some further 
important information relative to the German forests. 

In the plain of North Germany the Scotch fir is the principal forest tree, and better 
suited for deep, loose, sandy, than for heavy loaming soil. 

The great " Luneberg Heath" is mentioned as having been covered with wood, but 
the indifference of the inhabitants to the existence of forests, originating in the common 
belief that they will continue to exist no matter how recklessly treated, the desire 
of the villagers to get grazing ground for their cattle by burning the forests, the in- 
discriminate usage of the wood and method of felling in vogue, have destroyed hundreds, 
of miles of forest, and have left the greater part of the Luneberg Heath barren, cov- 
ered almost exclusively with heather, and of little use to any one. Now the evils are 
seen, and with a view of restoring these forests large sums of money and much skill 
and labor are being expended. 

I will quote here a short description of the method used in planting the Scotch fir ia 
such localities. The land is first plowed, after which a man proceeds along the bed 
making holes at distances three feet by five, with a wedge spade (one quite straight, 
made ail of wood except the edge, which is shod some inches high with iron, and is 
two inches thick at the top of the blade). This he forces iuto the ground, withdraws 
it, and passes on, while two women follow him, who plant by holding the seedling 
against the side of the hole, while with one foot they press the opjjosite earth against 
the plant. The material for planting consists of one-year old seedlings of Scotch fir, 
and occasionally a two-year old seedling of spruce, which are raised in the ordinary 
way by sowing in furrows. The Scotch fir requires more light and air than any other, 
and does not thrive at all in the shade of other forest trees. For the same reason 
natural reproduction (in forests) is very difficult and not attempted here. As a tree 
affording some shade to other trees which require it, the Scotch fir is well suited. If 
sown or planted very close, early attention to thinning out also is necessary, as plants 
early stunted never fully recover their strength. The soil not being rich, the trees 



30 AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

are not allowed to grow older than sixty to eighty years, this being the age at which 
the comparative yield of wood is best. Spruce is planted in small numbers with 
the Scotch fir, and even where the soil is not good enough for it to grow up into large 
trees with the fir it becomes beneficial by the cover of its dense foliage, which facili- 
tates decomposition of the soil and keeps it moister and cooler than the fir alone 
could do. 

It will, perhaps, be as well here to give Mr. Mann's very lucid description of beech 
culture : 

Seed beds for beech are prepared in the ordinary way, and the seed is sown in 
autumn as well as in spring. If the former time is preferred, care has to be taken 
that the seed does not germinate too early, so as to be exposed to spring frosts. This 
is prevented by covering over the beds after the surface gets slightly frozea, and by 
removing the covering in spring so late that the young seedlings have nothing more 
to fear from frost. If sown in spring, the seed has to be carefully stowed during 
the winter. Steaming, as w ell as excessive drying, must be guarded against. The 
first is avoided by turning over the seed or even keeping it spread out ; the second by 
slightly watering it and turning it over afterwards, so as to distribute the moisture 
equally. A cool, moist room on the ground floor is xjrefei'able to a warm and dry one. 

From the seed beds the plants are either removed at once into the forest, or inta 
other nurseries for transplanting and keeping until they reach a height of three or four 
feet. If they are to be jilanted in open ground, without the protection of old trees^ 
they are sometimes kept in the nursery until they reach a height of ten or twelve 
feet, which however is a very expensive measure. In this care is taken that the 
young shoots are not removed from the stem, as the baTk of the beech is very easily 
burnt by the sun and otherwise apt to be damaged by the weather. Unnecessary ex- 
posure of the roots of the young beech is carefully avoided, as they are very sensitive, 
and demand special care during the removal of the plants. Wliere it can be don& 
some of the soil is left on the roots for the same reason. 

Ordinarily the beech forest trees get re-established by natural production, i. e., the 
shedding of seed from old trees. When the beech gets mixed with other kinds, as in 
the coppice with standard, its regeneration is furthered or checked according to cir- 
cumstances, but planting is seldom resorted to. 

In the pure, high forests of beech the natural reproduction is brought about by 
gradual and well-considered fellings, which tend to affect this as completely as possi- 
ble. In hilly or mountainous localities fellings are commenced at the top of the hill. 
These fellings take place when the trees have reached maturity, and are three to four 
in number, and distinguished according to the immediate eflect they are intended to 
have on the forest. 

The first felling, called in Germany the preparatory cutting, is intended to facili- 
tate the decomposition of the dry leaves and branches which cover the surface, and 
thus prepare it for the reception of the seed, which latter, without this precaution, 
frequently germinates without being able to penetrate with its roots the compara- 
tively hard and leathery leaves lying on the surface, and often dies in consequence, 
while weeds and scrub easily get up in it and cover the surface soon, thus adding to 
the difficulties to be overcome by the young plants. It is commenced several years 
before the intended regeneration and carried out gradually ; but where the air and 
light thus admitted are not sufficient to render the surface fit for the reception of the 
seed, a timely permission to villagers to remove some of the dead leaves is resorted 
to. Besides the preparing of the soil, this opening out of the forest induces the tree 
to flower and bear seed more frequently than when standing very close. 

The second felling — the so-called seed-cutting — is carried out as soon as the bearing 
of seed becomes probable, which can be judged of beforehand by the appearance and 
shape of the buds during the preceding winter. An abundant seed-bearing season gene- 
rally occurs with the seed after longer or shorter intervals, but sufficient seed for the 
regeneration of the forest may be reckoned on every second or third year. Precaution 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 31, 

is used not to remove too many trees at once, as in case of the flowers being destroyed 
by spring frosts or other causes, the restoclviug of the ground with young plants does- 
not succeed. Too much light would dry up the surface of the soil, and induce the 
weeds to overrun the ground, both circumstances seriously interfering with the ger- 
mination of the seed at a future season. Where at this time the suitability of th& 
soil remains doubtful, a timely loosening and preparing of it in strips and patches is- 
resorted to to insure success. 

When the expected seeding of the trees turns out a failure, further clearing is care- 
fully avoided to prevent the deterioration of the soil or overgrowing with weeds. If,, 
however, the season is a favorable one, and produces sufficient seed, and the young^ 
plants germinate, this felling is soon extended to a greater number of trees, to admit 
more light and dew to strengthen the young plants. 

For the purpose of getting the seed worked into the ground, herds of swine, cattle,. 
&.C., are often driven through the forest with good effect. 

Seed beds are sometimes established in the neighborhood of a forest at the same 
time, to furnish young plants for the filling vip of vacancies, which, however, are also 
obtained nearly as good out of the forest itself from places where the plants stand thick 
enoiigh. Altogether the aiding of the natural reproduction by artificial means, either 
sowing or planting, is at the present time generally resorted to at once, as such meas- 
iires always lead to a more satisfactory accomplishment of the desired regeneration,, 
and save time. 

The third felling is called cutting for light, as its chief purpose is to admit light and- 
air in greater abundance as the young plants require it. This is generally commenced 
when the seedlings are two years old. It is also regulated very much by circumstances, 
and while in the one case the forest trees may be required longer on account of the 
siiring frosts, so very injurious to the young beech, in otliers their early removal is 
necessary, even if an increase in size be sacrificed, for the establishment of the young 
trees. Neither do partial failures prevent the removal of the old trees, but are resorted 
to at once by sowing or planting as the safest and quickest mode of securing the estab- 
lishment of the young forest. 

After the third or light felling follows the gradual removal of the old trees, or final 
clearing, which is regulated in the first instance also by the requirements of the young, 
trees, and after this by the fixed yearly out-turn, as laid down in the working plan. 
As a general rule, all these fellings are carried out gradually, without causing sudden 
changes in the forest. The aiding of natural repi'oduction is either accomplished by- 
sowing, if failures are perceptibly early, such as non-germination of the seed or deatk 
of the seedlings; or by planting, if the seedlings get destroyed later by spring frosts,, 
or are choked by weeds. The sowing is carried out in the forest in strips two feet 
wide, in furrows, or in patches two to three feet square, prepared by hoeing for the 
purpose, and by loosening and leveling of the soil, while planting is done by seed- 
lings two to three feet in height taken from adjoining ni^rsery beds, or from spots in 
the forest where there are more than are necessary. 

"It is evident," says Mr. Maun, "that if, with all this care and attention to aid 
natural reproduction, still occasional failures occur, how unreasonable it is to expect 
forests in India to keep in an equally rich and thriving condition if left to themselves- 
or worked only with a view of extracting the timber from them." I would also apply 
the remark to Canada, and observe also that Captain Clarke respecting India, and 
Hon. M. Joly concerning Canada, make precisely the same statement, to the efl:ect 
that the forests in both countries, cut over and carelessly managed, are often, so far 
as any available supply of good timber is concerned, only forests in appearance. 

It may be noticed that the beech, of all other trees, is said to improve the larud,. 
forming a rich vegetable mold, to gain the benefit of which other trees — oak, ash, 
maple, larch, Scotch fir — are i)lanted among the beeches and do well. I may notice 
here that in Canada, while clearing the forest, this did not appear to me. I generally 
found the maple on the richest land, and where beech were intermixed a lighter loam. 



32 AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

One description of forest niucli used in Germany is called "Middle Forest." It con- 
tains a number of high trees cut at long intervals for timber, and below them a cop- 
pice (smaller trees growing from roots of previously existing trees, and which will 
themselves, when cut, be succeeded by similar oues) cut at much shorter periods for 
firewood. In cutting the coppice, young trees are left to replace the tall ones when 
*ut. 

A method of planting used here should be noticed. A small spade of solid iron, 
about twenty pounds in weight, fourteen inches long, seven inches broad at top, five 
at' bottom, with a handle four inches long, is driven into the ground, and bent to all 
sides, then drawn out. The plant, three to four years old, of beech, spruce, or oak, 
•&C., is dipped into a thin mixture of loam and water, which adheres easily. In this 
state it is pushed with its roots into the hole as far as possible, and with continual 
shaking, by which the roots get straight down into the hole, drawn up to the level 
at which the plant should stand. Here it is held by one man, while another drives in 
the spade a second time, about three inches from the first hole and parallel with it, 
and first presses with its point towards the first hole, and then with the broader part, 
by which means the plant gets very firmly pressed into the soil. If necessary the 
spade is driven in a third time, to close up the second hole slightly. The soil is then 
beaten firm with a mallet all round the plant, but not striking closer than three 
inches. This mode is very successful; it is carried on without preparing the soil, and 
answers in stony ground, on account of the strength of the spade. 

On the Harz Mountains (the scene of many a supernatural legend) are vast forests 
of spruce, kept with much care. One remarkable point in the management is the Gov- 
ernment seed-drying kiln at Westerhof, for getting the spruce seed out of the cones 
and cleaning it of wings, which is carried on here extensively, the spruce being plen- 
tiful, of excellent growth, and iiroduciug exceptionally good seed. The cones are 
collected by contract work, and varies according to the seasons, if plentiful or other- 
wise, and generally enables the workman to earn 50 cents to 75 cents per day. After 
all the Government stores are filled, private persons are allowed to collect, for which 
the person has to pay a small sum per season. In the cones the seed remains good 
from seven to eight years. The Government kiln turns out about IHO cwts. per season, 
while private parties in good seasons have turned out as much as 1,600 cwts. besides. 
The cones, when first brought in, are stored in large rooms with i)erforated walls, so as 
to admit a free current of air through them. 

The kiln itself consists of three rooms, the center one of which is heated by means 
of a large oven, from which large iron pipes, six inches in diameter, pass twice through 
the room before they enter the chimney. This room is separated by walls, in which 
there are holes of nine inches, from the two outer rooms, in which the cones are being 
dried. By means of these holes, which can be closed at pleasure, the temperature ill 
the drying-room is regulated and kept between 1"22^ and 128° Fah. The drying is 
done in large wire drums, out of which the seed falls on the floor of the room. There 
are twelve in each room, and are turned from the outside of the room, where it is 
cooler. They are filled in the evening, the temperature got up, and so left for the 
night. The jiext morning the fire is lit again and, the drums being turned every half 
kour, by night the cones are empty. Half the cones are used to heat the kiln ; the 
rest sold for fuel. It costs Government about six cents per pound. What is not 
needed is sold at nine. 

It is noticeable that the spruce wood, among other uses, is ground into pulp for 
paper manufacture, several mills in the Harz Mountains being employed in this man- 
ner. It might be worth consideration whether, under au improved system of forestry, 
the waste wood left in such quantities in hewing and score-hacking could be, in our 
great Canadian spruce forests, so employed. 

It will be well to give an account of the method of reproducing and caring for 
spruce forests, both because our own forests will soon need replanting and to give 
some idea of the care taken in maintaining woodland property in foreign lands. 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 33 

Natural reproduction of tlie spruce is seldom attempted, as too slow and uncertain; 
but if there are thriving naturally some clumps of any extent they are kept up. 
Almost all spruce forests are regulated high forests, with complete clearings either 
resown, which is still preferred by some, or j)lanted, which is by far the most general 
mode of establishing or re-establishing spruce forests. If sown, lines about two feet 
in width are prepared by cleariug the weeds, &c., oJff the ground, and placing this at 
the edge of the lines to prevent the wind blowing among the seed or rain washing 
them off. The soil on these strips is sometimes loosened and lelt as it is if the seed is 
to be sown broadcast. If the seed is sown in rows small furrows are made. Between 
the strips ground twice as wide is left. For plantations the seed is sown in seed-beds, 
which are good, even, and sheltered jiieces of land, about half an acre in size arid 
well dug up, afterwards leveled and occasionally slightly manured by the ashes of 
the weeds, remains of wood, &c., collected on the surface, brought together and burned, 
aud afterwards mixed with the soil. These seed-beds are usually in the immediate 
neighborhood of the ground to be j)lanted and have to be fenced in. If the seedlings, 
after they are three or four years old, have to be removed from here at once to the 
spot where they are to remain, the seed-beds have to be larger, esi)ecially if the young 
plants are to be planted out in numbers, i. e., three or four in one hole. In the latter 
case the seed is sown generally in furrows, one foot apart, as being more cmvenient, 
aud requiring here in the hills about seventy-five pounds of seed for half an acre, 
which is sufficient to plant fifty acres of forest. The better plan, however, is to have 
the plants from seed-beds, after they, are two years old, transplanted singly into a nur- 
sery at about seven inches distance, where they remain until they are four or five 
years old ; this, however, requires as much sjiace again for the nursery as for the 
seed camp. Not unfrequently four to six year old seedlings are taken from the adjoin- 
ing forest, where they are generally so close as to permit of the removal of many of ■ 
them ; and this is the most inexpensive way of procuring seedlings in limited num- 
bers. Where there is a demand for thinnings the planting of three or four plants in 
one hole recommends itself. If it is likely that the ground get run over rapidly with 
weeds, or the soil dried up by the sun, the replanting is done as soon after the removal 
of the old forest as possible, whilst where the danger from insects, especially the small 
beetle, is great, the ground is let lie two or three years first. Planting is done in 
autumn as well as in spring, but the latter is i^referred. Spruce is planted four or five 
feet apart. 

To protect the spruce forest against damage from insects the forester has to be con- 
stantly on the alert, as they are many, and if not checked in time great damage is 
done by them. The most destructive noticed was the ordiuaiy spruce bark beetle, 
which attacks the bark of living trees, and had, in some of the localities visited by 
the commissioner, destroyed so many trees that, when the diseased were removed the 
forest had become so open that the wind would soon have removed the rest had they 
not been felled. Experienced men are told off to guard against this danger by going 
through the forest to search for the trees attacked by the beetle aud fell and bark 
them to prevent the spreading of the insects. In most cases they are quite able to 
hold the insects in check. These generally attack trees loosened in the roots by wind, 
known after the beetle gets in by their foliage turning yellow. In spring, when they 
are worst, healthy living trees are felled at the southern margin of the forest in sunny 
spots, for the purpose of attracting the beetle. Such trees are often full of them three 
or four days after being felled. The trees attacked are barked, which destroys the 
larvae if not too far advanced ; if so, the bark is burned. To prevent any escaping 
while barking a cloth is spread under the stem. The timber beetle, which attacks 
new felled trees, going deep into the wood, is also common there aud is watched for 
closely. For the young plantation of spruce the first mentioned is the most danger- 
ous as it eats off the bark above the roots and kills the tree. Fresh pieces of bark a 
foot square, inner side down, are laid around before or after planting. The beetles 
go under and are caught and killed. The bark is examined every morning. 

4468 LOR 3 



34 AMEEICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

SILVER FIB AND SPRUCE IN THE BLACK FOREST. 

The Black Forest mouutains are tlie home of the silver fir. The winters are severe- 
five to eight feet of snow on the hills from November till April ; three feet in the val- 
leys from December till March. They are partly regulated forest, in which, however, 
a gradual felling for their reproduction is carried on over one-third or one-fourth of 
the whole area at once, from which every year during thirty or forty years the largest 
trees are removed, while the rest are allowed to grow larger during the remaining 
years. This is done, as the price these large trees fetch is much higher in proi^ortion 
than that of the smaller ones, and all are felled and removed in one piece if possible. 
Natural reproduction is chiefly resorted to in these forests, which, in consequence of 
the young plant growing well in the shade of the old trees, is very easily accomplished, 
even though it is extended over such a long period as thirty or forty years. To be 
able to keep as many trees as possible growing on the lands on which the regenera- 
tion of the forest is going on, the branches up to one or two-thirds of the height of the 
tree are sawn off to admit air and light to the young plants below, which does no 
harm to the silver fir, but, on the contrary, is said to aid the more rapid increase of 
the trunk, while the branches are used for litter. This sawing off of the branches is 
commenced from above by men who earn about forty-five cents a da:^ . Regular seed- 
bearing seasons occur at longer or shorter intervals, but nearly every year there is 
sufficient seed to increase the number of young plants where it is wanted. Moss 
cover is very favorable for the germination of the seed, whilst in siich places as get 
covered with grass or weeds, or where for other reasons the seed does not germinate 
freely, the soil is at once prepared, by clearing and slightly loosening it iu strips and 
patches, for the reception of the seed, the germination of which is thus facilitated. If 
the open space in the forest is so large that the seed from the old trees does not reach 
the whole of it, sowing by hand is resorted to early, so as to let the young plants be 
as nearly as possible of the same age. If, by the time the old trees are nearly all re- 
moved, there are still some parts not covered with young trees, ijlanting is resorted to. 
For the better growth of such planted trees the existing groups are somewhat rounded 
off, to avoid the young trees planted having to struggle with the others, perhaps 
already twenty to thirty years old ; and where, on incompletely stocked spaces, which 
have to be filled up by planting, there are single trees of some twenty or thirty years, 
they are cut down altogether ; or, if they are standing in numbers, and are not quite 
so large, some of the lower branches are lopped off the outer ones, so as not to inter- 
fere with those planted. These plants are either taken from nurseries or out of the 
forest, if the latter have not grown in too deep shade, which wojild render them liable 
to suffer on being removed to open places. 

The seed is collected with some risk from the trees in October, before the cones open 
and it falls out. As the seeds are very oily, they are best kept in the cones or sown at 
once. The sowing is done in jirepared beds in rows four inches apart, and after germi- 
nation the ground is covered with moss to keep in the moisture. The seedlings one 
year old are transplanted into rows six or seven inches apart, and three inches be- 
tween the plants in the rows, after which the soil between them is also covered with 
moss. Here they have to remain for two or three years before they are fit for trans- 
planting. Shade from the side is very beneficial for the seed beds as well as for 
the nursery. Plantss from the nursery are preferable to those out of the forest ; and 
the latter, when used, are as a rule removed with some of the soil adhering to the 
roots. Planting is better done in spring than in autumn, and in the usual way, the 
roots of the young plants being cut as may be necessary. They have to be sheltered 
as far as possible against sun, dryness, or spring frosts, and the plants as a rule thrive 
better on the cool northerly and easterly slopes of the mountains than anywhere else. 
The silver fir grows very slowly at first, and does not get much higher than six inches 
in the first four or five years. At the age of twenty-five years it begins to grow very 
fast, and increases most between the ages of eighty and a hundred and twenty years. 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 35 

It Dkes best a deep, cool, moist, and loamy soil with a covering of moss, and sends its 
roots deeper than the siiruce, in consequence of which it suffers less from wind and 
storm than the latter. There are many sj)ruce intermixed, used when natural repro- 
duction of the silver fir fails. Thinnings are necessary in the thirtieth year, and have 
then to be repeated every tenth year, till the gradual felling of the largest trees com- 
mences. These fellings are regulated by the needs of the young seedlings, and are car- 
ried our only sufficiently to admit light to the young plants, leaving as many of the 
old trees to stand as can be permitted. 

Moorpan. — In Hanover and elsewhere, where the Government are bringing up thou- 
sands of acres of heath for the purpose of planting forests, great difficulty is found in 
penetrating and converting into good soil a hard layer called " moorj)au." This is 
broken by plough and pickaxe, and Scotch firs planted, whose deep tap-root passes 
down into the layer of better soil below. The Government pay about $11 an acre for 
the laud. 

FRANCE. 

The administration of forests in France is intrusted to the ministry of finance, and 
the head of the Department is the director-general, assisted by two administrators, 
one charged with the management of the forests and the sale of the products, the 
other with the police of the forests and the forest laws. In the departments there are 
thirty-two conservators, each in charge of one or more departments, according to 
. the extent of forests in each. The immediate supervision is intrusted to inspectors, 
who are assisted by sub-inspectors and (jardes-generaux, who live near, and personally 
superintend all operations and work of the forest guards. The brigadiers and forest 
guards live in hoiases in the forest and serve as a police over a certain range. They are 
rerjuired to be present at all operations, and to go round their ranges at least once a 
day to report any violations of forest law that may take place. 

The saw-mills in the forests are usually owned by the Government and hired at a 
certain rate to the wood merchants, who buy the cuttings. The timber is allowed to 
be sawn up before it 'is inspected and marked by the forest guard under the superin- 
tendence of an inspector. 

The forests under the management of the bureau are (State and Commune) about 
7,5U0,000 acres. There were nearlj' a million more, which went with Alsace and Lor- 
raine to Germany. Also, there are in France 15,000,000 acres of jjrivate forests. 

Of schools of forestry, the French have, at Nancy, one of the best in the world, 
where pupils are instructed both experimentally and theoretically in all forest learn- 
ing, tlie collegiate home studies being constantly varied by excursions of parties of 
pupils, under charge of professors, to those forests where, at the time, most can be 
learned. Proficiency in these school forms, of course, a strong recommendation to 
future advancement in the Government or private forests service. For admission to 
the school candidates must bring a letter of authorization from the director-general of 
forests, which can only be obtained by those from nineteen to twenty-two, without in- 
firmities, and having a diploma of bachelor of letters, or attainments in classical 
studies to warrant such diploma. They must also have an income of |300 per annum, 
or a pledge from friends to provide it and $120 afterwards till employed as garde-gen- 
eral on active duty. 

In the difficulties which have hindered the efforts being made, especially in America, 
to preserve a due amount of forest, one of the most formidable has been the disincli- 
nation to interfere with private rights. It will be of service in Canada in this matter 
to notice how summarily, in France, this matter has been managed. I will therefore 
quote the principles of law upon which the forest code of France is founded, as stated 
with great precision by Professor Macarel (a writer deservedly of the highest estima- 
tion) in his " Cours de Droit Administratif." As they embrace views applicable in other 
countries under like necessities — being, in fact, an extension of the right of eminent 
domain, or that maxim of Roman law, salus i^ojiuli siqn'ema est lex — they will be espe- 
cially germane to our i)urpose. He says : 



36 AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

" Bestrictions implied in the free enjoyment of the soil. 

"As to the woods and forests : 

" The preservation of forests is one of the first interests of society, and consequently- 
one of the first duties of government. It is not alone from the wealth which they 
offer that we may judge. Their existence is of itself of incalculable benefit, as well 
in the protection and feeding of the springs and rivers as in their prevention of the 
washing away of the soil from mountains, and in the beneficial influence which they 
exert upon the atmosphere. 

" Large forests deaden and break the force of heavy winds that beat out the seeds 
and injure the growth of plants; they form reservoirs of moisture; they shelter the 
growth of the fields; and upon hill-sides, where the rain-waters, checked in their de- 
scent by the thousand obstacles they present by their roots and by the trunks of trees, 
have time to filter iuto the soil, and only find their way by slow degrees to the rivers. 
They regulate, in a certain degree, the flow of the waters and the hygrometrical con- 
dition of the atmosphere, and their destruction accordingly increases the duration of 
droughts and gives rise to the injuries of inundations, which denude the face of the 
mountains. 

"Penetrated with these truths, legislators have in all ages made the preservation of 
forests an object of special solicitude. 

"Unfortunately, private interests — that is to say, the action of those Avho do not 
directly feel the power of the Government — are often opposed to this great national 
interest, and the laws framed for protection are often powerless. 

"In France, the ordinances prior to the revolution carried too far the restrictions 
imposed on private owners. The new regulations fell into the opposite extreme, and 
allowed the proprietors free and absolute liberty to dispose of their woods. 

"A large destruction followed this imprudent translation from excess of restraint 
to excess of liberty. The proprietors abused this unwonted freedom, and clearings 
multiplied indefinitely, without distinction as to the places where they were made, so 
that in many localities the rushing down of the denuded soil and the deforesting of 
mountains caused the soil needed for vegetation to disappear and left the rocks naked. 
The rise in the price of wood and the easy and certain resource offered to proprietors 
in the clearing of a planted tract, when compared with the remote and eventual ad- 
vantages offered in their preservation ; the hope of compensation, and, beyond this, 
the advantages, in one way and another, of cultivation, may be recognized as among 
the causes which sufficiently explain the inducements offered to many of these pro- 
prietors, which led them to undertake these clearings." 

I would here notice that this is precisely what we have been doing in Canada, and 
that the ill effects which followed in France will surely in no long time be felt in 
Ontario. They are already felt ; we have not the clirhate we had, nor the favoring 
moisture when most needed. Yet we could get along as we are. But that is just 
what is impossible. We must, while there is time, use some means of averting the 
evil, or we shall certainly become much worse oft" than we are. M. Macarel goes on: 

" At length, this progressive deforesting of the soil of France, joined with the inces- 
sant need of firewood, and the demand for wood by manufactories and ships, have, 
during forty years, made sad havoc with our forest wealth. 

" A renewal of the ancient prohibitions by the law of 9 Floreal, year XI, was deemed 
necessary to oppose this excessive clearing of woods by private owners. It was ac- 
cordingly decreed that, during the twenty-five years dating from the date of the pro- 
mulgation, no wood should be cut or carried off unless six months' notice had been 
given by the proprietor to the forest conservator of the arrondisement of the district 
in which the wood was located. Within this time the forest administration might 
object to the clearing off of the wood, and was charged to refer the question before 
the end of this time to the minister of finance, upon whose report the Government 
might definitely decide within the same time. It therefore resulted in this, that to 
make a clearing an authorization precedent by the administration was necessary, and 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS 37 

that if the administration thought proper not to grant this, the projirietor was re- 
strained against cutting. 

" Thus, according to this branch of agricultural industry, the general law of France 
is, that owners are free to vary, within certain limits, the cultivation and working of 
their lands; but as to woods and forests, the public interests demand that individuals 
shall not be free to clear them from the soil whenever they please. From hence it 
follows, that the administration has a right to pronounce its prohibition against clear- 
ing whenever it is deemed that the public interests require that this be done." 

The penalties for clearing when forbidden are, I may state, a fine of about $200 per 
acre, and compulsory replanting within three years. This law was, I conceive, in full 
force in 1874, as this quotation forms part of a report to the United States Congress 
of that year. It probably is in force still, and justly so. The voice of the people, 
not of solitary citizens, should decide in so important a matter as deforesting a 
country. 

The French Government have, at great expense, replanted vast and almost barren 
districts ; they have also established great forests along the sea-shore, where formerly 
the sand threatened to destroy whole departments, and have averted the evil. But 
the chief means is the prohibition of clearing; for it is the interest of an owner who 
does not clear to plant and improve his forest, so as to receive an increased income 
from the trees arriving at maturity in increased numbers yearly. 

SWITZERLAND. 

In no country in Europe has the waste of forests been more rapid or destructive 
than in Switzerland, and in none, perhaps, has this improvidence been followed by 
more disastrous result. The woods, being considered common property, were uprooted; 
and the soil on the mountains being exposed to the wash of the rains, was ra'pidly 
carried away, leaving broad areas of naked rock, from which the water would at once 
sweep down the valleys in sudden and destructive inundations. The autumn of 1868 
is memorable on account of these floods. 

Public attention has, however, been thoroughly awakened, and active measures are 
in progress to remedy, as far as may be, these evils. The cantons which have charge 
of these operations have for some time, at great expense, been constructing works to 
control the streams, and planting trees wherever practicable. 

I would here remark that this is a very difficult matter compared with what it might 
have been. It is easy to preserve a forest on a hill-side, but the soil once washed to 
the rock, it is another matter. I could point out places ijj Ontario where splendid 
forests stood, and yet might have stood, now for many miles. 

" White rock and gray rock, 
Barren and bare." 

The matter is now in Switzerland taken into the hands of the national Government, 
and the following article gives the idea : 

"Art. XXII. The Federal Union of Switzerland has the right of supervising struc- 
tures for the protection of water courses, and of the forest police in mountain regions. 
It will assist in protective structures for water courses, and in the planting of forests 
at their sources. It will enact the requisite regulations for maintaining these works 
and the forests now existing." 

ITALY. 

Soon after the present Kingdom of Italy was established, a central forest school 
was organized near Florence, under the direction of A. di Berenger, formerly in the 
Austrian forest service of Venezia, and author of an excellent work on the history 
of forest management in Italy. The school is located in the splendid silver fir forest 
of Vallombrosa. We all remember 

" TMck as autumnal leaves that strew the brooks, 
In Vallombrosa." 



38 AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

This is below the crest of the Apennines, on their western slope, about twenty 
miles east of Florence. In winter it is transferred to a lower station at Pateruo, in 
the region of the olive. Italian forest literature of direct practical application is 
comparatively modern, but of late the publications of the njinistry of agriculture, to 
which sylviculture is entrusted, contain much that is valuable. The two most im- 
portant of these give the statistics of forests and the forest law of Italy. There are 
over 5,000,000 acres of communal forests, over 6,000,000 of private forests, and only 
500,000 acres of State forests. One-fifth of the land is in forest. This is scant enough, 
apparently, or the nominal forests have been culled to depreciation, for we are told 
that— 

" Projects of a general forest law for the whole of Italy have been repeatedly sub- 
mitted to the Italian Parliaments The evil effects of denudation have been severely 
felt in many parts of the country, and the aim of these j)roposed legislative enact- 
ments has hittherto been to guard against further mischief by determining before- 
hand which lands shall, in the public interest, be clothed with forest or kept under 
forest, and then to place the whole of these lauds under the supervision or control of 
the public forest officers without distinction, whether they belonged to state, village, 
commune, or private persons. From a report with which the minister of agriculture 
submitted the project of a general forest law in 1870, it appears that the financial 
exigencies of the country had rendered imperative the alienation of the greater part 
of the forests at the disposal of the State, and that it was only intended to retain a 
limited area of State forests, mainly with the view of supplying the timber required 
by the navy, and the forests required for this purpose the bill proposed to declare in- 
alienable. 

"Thus, with regard to forest matters," says Captain Walker, "it seems probable 
that Italy will pursue a policy different from that which has of late years been initi- 
ated in most provinces of India. In those provinces we acknowledge the necessity of 
maintaining certain areas under forest, or of clothing them with forest when they are 
bare ; but we do not expect any satisfactory success in those attempts, unless the 
forests to be thus maintained or created are under the enitre conrtol of the State, and 
we entertain no serious hopes of effecting any real good by the supervision of private 
forests, or by any general kind of control over communal forests, unless the adminis- 
tration or management of such communal forests can be vested entirely in the hands 
of the jiublic forest officers. 

"Ill those provinces, therefore, of the Indian Empire, to which I now refer, our 
priuciiial aim is, in the first place, to consolidate the State forests wherever the State 
has suitable forest lands at its disposal; and we hope that eventually, when the ma- 
jority of public forest officers shall have acquired that professional knowledge, skill, 
and experience which is necessary for a satisfactory management of forest laud, that 
they may be found competent not only to manage the State forests entrusted to their 
charge, but also to induce la- ge landed proprietors to follow their example in the 
management of their own estates, and, if such should ever be found neeessarj'- and 
expedient, to exercise an efficient supervision over x^rivate and communal forest lands; 
but we think that any attempt to exercise supervision and control over jirivate and 
communal forest lands through the agency of forest officers who have not actually 
charge of jiublic forests entirely under their own control, and who cannot i)oint to 
the management of their own forests as an example to be followed in the management 
of the private or communal forests, would lead to unsatisfactory results. The further 
development of the general forest policy in Italy will doubtless be followed with great 
interest by Indian foresters, and on this account it appeared to me right to add the 
present remarks." 

It may be valuable here to notice that in this, as in oither points, the practical ideas 
of the Indian commissioner might well be applied in Canada. There is good reason 
to fear over-denudation here ; there is also reason to believe that we shall have an in- 
terval in which to take measures for avoiding the evil. In tihat interval the course 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 39 

stated by the commissioner as likely to be followed in India miglit, it appears to me, 
profitably be j)nrsued here, namely, the taking in hand by Government of any amount 
of forest fit for the purpose, and which could be spared from the operation of the sys- 
tem at present jiursued, and preserving them on the Euroxiean plan. This "will fur- 
ther on be more fully treated. 

EUSSIA. 

In this vast empire, where, as iu the United States, we have been accustomed, to 
believe the forest is interminable, and where, in fact, the amount of woodland iu the 
northern two-thirds is more than twice as great in proportion to its area as in the 
United States, the Government has turned its attention energetically to the subject of 
forestry, and has undertaken to establish by regulation conservative measures. As 
yet, private persons and establishments owning forests enjoy the absolute right to 
cut and clear at will. But these do not own nearly so much as the Government, which 
has about 330,000,000 acres of woods; the others holding about 150,000,000. About 40 
per cent, of the country (Russia iu Europe) is timbered. I must remark that this 
amount, after so long an occupation, shows that the timber has been taken some care 
of already. For the immense Government woods, they have been placed under the 
care of the minister of public domains, who has a director of the forest department, 
and the organization of the service is very complete. For the purpose of fitting young 
men for the duties of forest agents and agriculturists, either for the Government service 
or upon private estates, two special schools of agriculture and forestry have been 
established — one at Saint Petersburg and one near Moscow. The course of instruc- 
tion extends through three or four years, and the schools are placed near forests, where 
every detail is illustrated. There is also another forest school at Lissino, of the second 
grade, where the course is very, practical. 



In 1859 a bureau of forest administration was created. Forest regulations, how- 
ever, extend back to 1647, and even before that private owners were required to jilant 
and ijrotect from cattle two trees for each one cut. 

In 1868 a commission was apiiointed, under the direction of Mr. E. V. Alinquist, to 
inquire into the need of further legislation, and in December, 1870, he submitted a 
report with a bill, making 392 pages, besides numerous tables. 

One clause in the reported bill is a compulsory feature, which, though less stringent, 
is in the spirit of the enactments now in force in most of the countries of continental 
Europe, namely, forbidding trees to be cut for sale smaller than eleven inches at the 
butt, or eight inches, sixteen Swedish feet therefrom. 



The necessity of preserving tropical forests has, fortunately, attracted the attention 
of Government in British India, where the importance of maintaining an equilibrium 
of temj)erature and humidity is of much immediate consequence to the social weKare ; 
and the growing demands of railroad use, and the various applications of the arts, 
render it a siibject of direct practical utility. 

The matter has been agitated since 1850, and in 1864 Government laid the founda- 
tion of an improved general system of forest administration for the whole Indian 
Empire, having for its object the conservation of state forests, and the development 
of this source of national wealth. The experience acquired in the forest schools of 
France and Germany has been brought to apply in this great national undertaking. 
Among the more important general principles laid down for the execution of this 
measure is that all superior Government forests are reserved and made inalienable, 
and their boundaries marked out to distinguish them from waste lands available for 
the public. The act of 1864, defining the nature of forest rules and penalties, has 
been adopted by most of the local governments, and the executive arrangements are 



40 AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 

left to tlie local administrations. Various surveys have been made to obtain accurate 
data concerning the geographical and botanical characteristics of the reserved tracts, 
and the kind of timber best adapted for various localities has been carefully ascertained. 

In 1866, the Government resolved upon sending out five young men, duly qualified 
by education in the forest schools of France and Germany, for the forest department 
of India. An arrangement was made the same year by which forest officers in the 
India service, who might choose to come to Europe on furlough, would be able to 
increase their professional knowledge by studying forest management and other sub- 
jects connected with forests in Great Britain and on the continent. A number of 
officers have availed themselves of these arrangements, and some of their reports have 
been published. 

Of these, that by Captain Walker and that of M. Gustav Maun I have largely used 
elsewhere, as the reader will have observed. 

"At the moment of our writings," says the author of a report from which I have 
obtained much, presented to the United States Congress in 1874, "the public journals 
are giving most painful accounts of the distress in India from famine. From a careful 
study of this subject, we cannot doubt that this calamity is due to the fact that the 
forests have, of late years, been swept off by demand for railroad and other uses much 
more rapidly than formerly, and that the exposure to winds and sun thus occasioned 
may have largely contributed to these painful results. The remedies are to be sought 
in the restoration of that due proportion of forest-shade upon which agriculture de- 
pends for success. If the officers to whom the opportunities for European observation 
fall, improve them as well as some reported by Captain Walker, we may reasonably 
hope for a radical, though not an immediate, restoration of abundant harvests through- 
out the vast countries of India." 

Now, since this was written, we have Sir Richard Temple's valuable book, "India 
in 1880," which I have noticed before. This gives us some idea of what has been 
commenced by the gentlemen who have been writing the reports we have used. He 
says : 

"The Government of India has enacted a law regulating all matters connected with 
forest conservancy, and the provisions of this law are being carried into effect by the 
several local governments. The forests are divided into two categories: first, those 
which are 'reserved' being preserved and worked through state agency, in a most 
complete manner; secondly, those which are 'protected' being preserved less thor- 
oughly. The best timber markets are mainly supplied from the 'reserved' forests. 
Care has been taken to determine what tracts shall be 'reserved' and 'protected,' 
and to mark off their boundaries. The area thus defined in the several provinces 
already, or likely to be defined ere long, will prove to be hardly less than eighty 
thousand square miles for the whole empire. The primary object of the administra- 
tion is to i)reserve the forests for the sake of the country. Due attention is also given 
to the financial out-turn ; much income is already secured. The expenditure is over 
£500,000 annually, but the receipts amount to nearly £700,000, and in time the forest 
department will have a prosperous revenue. 

"The superior officers of the department are for the most part British, trained in 
the forest schools of France and Germany. The inspector-general of forests with the 
Government of India is Dr. D. Brandis, whose services to the empire have been con- 
spicuous in organizing a system of forestry which is sound and scientific, and is yet 
adapted to the circumstances of the country. Instruction in forestry is afforded to 
natives also; forest schools are established for them, and in time they will take a 
large share of the administrative work. 

"As might be expected, the system of forest conservancy, though generally accepted 
by the natives who dwell near the 'reserved' and the 'protected' tracts, is sometimes 
opijosed by them. There must always be some danger lest the foresters should, in 
their zeal for conservancy, infringe upon the jirescriptive rights of the inhabitants.. 
The local civil authorities are vigilant and prompt in asserting and vindicating the 



AMERICAN FORESTRY CONGRESS. 41 

rights of the people iu this respect; for the recognitioa of which rights, indeed, ample 
provision is made by the law. They should, however, be careful to support the forest 
officers iu the execution of duties which are of the utmost consequeuce to the welfare 
of the country. Many of the hill tribes habitually burn patches of valu.ible forest, 
iu order that the ashes may so fertilize the virgin soil as to render it capable of pro- 
ducing a crop witliout tillage. Having reaped one harvest, thej^ leave the spot 
marked by charred stumps of timber trees and move on to repeat the same ravage 
elsewhere. This barbarous and wastefully destructive practice is gradually and 
caiitiously checked by reclaiming these people from agricultural savagery, and induc- 
ing them to plow lauds and raise yearly crops by ordinary husbandry. 

"According to the latest returns there appear to be 29,600 square miles of demarcated 
reserve forests, .3,500 square miles of protected areas, and 35,000 square miles of uure- 
served forests, or 68,000 square miles iu all. This appears a comparatively small area 
for so large an empire, esjiecially when it is remembered that of this not more than 
one-half is eifectually preserved. Some extensive forest tracts exist, however, in the 
Madras Presidency, of which a return remains to be rendered. There are, further, 
31,000 acres of plantations in various districts." 

These plantations, I may remark, are those commenced by the foresters under Dr. 
Brandis, and are being every year added to at the rate of some thousands of acres. 
It may be uoticed that the forest ofScers trained in Europe for ludia, and at w^ork 
there now, number forty-six out of a staff of ninety-three, who have, of course, an 
immense number of subordinates. 

Coucerning other countries, it may be generally remarked that all the nations of 
continental Europe are moving in forestry matters, and that there are many schools 
besides those I have mentioned. 

44G8 LOR 4 



t- f/!r '08 



